Blood Bonds
by bambers2
Summary: After a run in with Lucifer, Dean suffers from a raging sickness that could kill him, and it is up to Rowan to save his life. But will Rowan help him or will he leave Dean to die? 4th story in angels and demon series.
1. Chapter 1

So, I was doubtful as to whether i was gonna continue onward with this series here, but what the hell!! hope everyone enjoys!! This story is running parallel to gengeno776's story It only Hurts to Breathe...she will be writing Sam and Jax's storyline and I will be focusing on Dean and Rowan's storyline...please let us know what you think...reviews are like cookies and we love cookies!! bambers;)

_Chapter One_

For what seemed the longest time, Rowan stood outside the doorway of the motel room that he and Dean had stayed at while hunting for Killeon. With his head lowered, dark wispy bangs trailing into his deep green eyes, he lightly rested his hand against the wooden surface. He didn't want to leave Dean alone to die, but he had meant what he said. He just couldn't stand by and watch another person he cared about die, and having bitten Lucifer and drank his blood, Dean was pretty much as good as dead.

"I'm sorry, Dean," he breathed in a soft whisper as he turned and headed for the Chevelle.

Luckily, he had thought to pick Dean's pocket when the younger man had fallen into his arms, and had taken his car keys. A stab of guilt ate away at him as he got in the sleek black automobile and drove away, leaving Dean with no transportation, and only the weapons that he had brought inside the motel with him. His only consolation was that in a short amount of time, Dean would be in no condition to drive anywhere, and it was safer for him to stay where he was at the moment.

Trying to push aside any thoughts of what he had done, Rowan headed out of Las Vegas and toward North Carolina. Killeon had made it very clear that vamps had been watching his son, and that meant Collin was in danger. He had also sent Bobby and Joshua to his home there, and if Killeon found that out, their lives were in danger as well. That thought had him pressing even harder on the gas pedal.

As he drove, Rowan's mind wandered back to how Dean had risked his life to save him, and another wave of guilt crashed over him. Dean had done the unthinkable, he had become a vampire, something he detested with all his heart and soul, and Rowan had just walked out when Dean needed him the most. But without the amulet, Rowan couldn't see a way to save Dean's life, and just couldn't stomach the thought of sticking around to watch his excruciatingly painful death.

Not knowing what else he could do to help Dean, he yanked his cell phone out of his pocket and jabbed the button. When a deeply masculine voice answered, Rowan didn't even bother with customary formalities as he got right to the heart of why he had called.

"Lochlan, it's Rowan, I need you to get me a cell number for a Jax Callio, an' I needed it like yesterday."

"Told you before, Rowan," came Lochlan's now irritated voice, "the Brethren isn't your own personal little geek squad. You need a number call information."

"Why would I do that when I know you can get me the number within a heartbeat?"

"Sure I could, if I wanted to," Lochlan said, clearly not about to give Rowan an easy time in getting the information he wanted. "But I don't, so you're outta luck."

"Tell me something, Lochlan," Rowan went on to say as if he hadn't heard the barely disguised contempt in the younger man's tone, "just who owns all those fancy little high-tech gadgets you use for your research?" He paused to wait for Lochlan to respond, but when he failed to do so, Rowan added, "And that crappy piece of junk you call a classic muscle car which costs more in repairs than it's actually worth . . . jus' wonderin' who actually owns it? Not to mention all those little business expenses you seem to rack up monthly . . . still not exactly sure if a five hundred dollar an hour prostitute could technically be called a business expense, but hell, I'm nothin' if not generous."

"Thought she was a demon an' was jus' checkin' it out," Lochlan hastily defended, although Rowan could've sworn he could hear the smile in the younger hunter's voice.

"I'm sure the world's a safer place due to your dedication to the job," Rowan smirked as he rolled his eyes. "But my point is, if you don't get your goddamn ass on that computer an' find me the number, I'm so gonna kick your freakin' ass when I get to North Carolina."

"You're comin' here?"

"I'm on my way as we speak."

Lochlan was silent for a moment, his steady breathing the only sound coming from the other end of the line, and then he finally responded. "What was his last name again?"

"Callio . . . Jax Callio."

Rowan listen as Lochlan tapped at a computer keyboard and within a matter of moments he said, "Area code 919-764-3224 . . . there you got your number, now do me a favor an' forget mine cause I swear this is the last time I help ya out." Before Rowan even had the chance to thank him, Lochlan hung up the line.

Quickly dialing the number Lochlan had given him, Rowan listened and breathed a sigh of relief when Jax finally answered.

"Hello," Jax muttered into the phone, and Rowan could distinctly hear Sam talking in the background.

"Jax, it's Rowan. Where are you?"

"Headin' for North Carolina at the moment," Jax replied, lowering his tone.

"I need you to get your ass back here right now to give Dean back his amulet."

"Can't do that," Jax refused, lowering his voice even more.

"He could die if you don't get it back here to me very soon," Rowan breathed, tightening his hold on his phone. "So get your ass back here now."

"Look, I'd like ta help ya, but . . . ." Jax hesitated for a moment, and Rowan could tell the younger hunter was trying to decide if he should turn around and come back to Las Vegas or not. "I can't . . . there's someone in North Carolina who needs my help, so you're jus' gonna have ta figure out another way ta help him." With that, Jax hung up on him.

"Sonuvabitch." Rowan threw down the phone in utter frustration. Jax was Dean's only hope, and he was driving further and further away as the moments ticked cruely by. He grabbed for the phone again, thinking that maybe if he argued a little more, Jax would change his mind, but knew deep down it was useless. "Jax, I'm so gonna kick your freakin' ass the next time I see you."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Dean stared dumbfounded at the closed door of the motel room he was staying in, waiting for Rowan to return, but as minutes dragged on, he fearfully realized Rowan wasn't coming back. Drawing in a shaky breath, Dean slowly got to his feet, and was forced to grab hold of the chair to balance himself. His grip tightened around the backrest as the room seemed to shift off kilter and then just as swiftly shifted back.

With the back of his hand, he swiped the sweat beading on his forehead, and cursed aloud as he felt how warm his head felt. From years of experience taking care of Sam, he knew that sweating was usually a good sign as it meant the fever was breaking, but could tell by the heat radiating off of him, that he was no where near getting any better.

On shaky legs, he carefully made his way to the bed, and slumped down onto it. _Call Sam, tell him where you are an' say your goodbyes," _Rowan's last parting words came back to haunt Dean as he pushed his way further onto the mattress and laid down. Yanking his cell phone out of his pocket, he stared at it long and hard before he finally jabbed the button to call his little brother. _Come on, Sammy, pick up the phone, I really need to talk to you . . . need to hear your voice," _Dean silently pleaded as he listened to the phone ringing.

"Hello?"

Dean's heart caught in his throat as he heard Sam answer the phone, but as he opened his mouth to speak to him he remembered Michael's warning, and snapped his mouth shut.

"Hello?" Sam asked again, this time sounding a bit aggravated.

__

I think I'm dyin', Sammy . . . an' I don't wanna die alone. Please come an' find me.

"Is there anyone there?"

__

There's so much I wanna tell ya . . . so many damn things I need to explain. It was only supposed to be for six months, an' then I was free.

"Dean?" There was such a sound of desperate hope in his little brother's voice that it tore away a hole in Dean's heart. "Is that you? If it's you jus' answer me, please."

__

Yeah, it's me, Sammy . . . I need you to find me . . . I need to be able to say goodbye.

"If that's you, Dean, where are ya?" Sam's tone turned to pleading, and Dean's grip on the phone tightened in response. "Jus' tell me where you are an' I'll come an' find ya.

"_I'm in Las Vegas, little brother . . . an' I'm jus' callin' to say goodbye. _Dean hit the button ending the call.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Rowan slowed the car down as he passed by an old stone church, and swore under his breath. Doing a quick u-turn, he pulled into the vacant parking lot, parked the car, and headed inside. Fearful and on shaky legs, he trudged down the long aisle way lined on either side with cushioned pews. As he reached the altar, he dropped to his knees and lowered his head.

"Tell me what to do," he called out to the statue of Jesus on the cross. "I don't want to leave him to die, but I don't know how to save him."

Rowan waited for what seemed the longest time with no answer to his plea, and just when he was beginning to think there would be no answer forth coming, a soft breeze filtered into the damp old church causing the candles on the altar to flicker. Closing his eyes, he felt as if someone placed a comforting hand on his shoulder as he could see a warm golden glow behind his closed eyelids.

"It's been a long time since you've found your way to my house, Judas," came a softly spoken male voice. "It's good to see that you're finally finding your way."

"He trusted me, an' I turned my back on him an' walked away," Rowan reluctantly admitted.

"Those who wander are not always lost, but then you don't really need me to tell you that, or you wouldn't be here in the first place."

Rowan lowered his head even further as he listen to the voice that held no condemnation for his actions. "He saved me when any other person would've turned their back on me, an' I just couldn't find it in myself to do the same for him."

"You speak as if he is already dead." The soft soothing voice hesitated briefly as if to give Rowan hope that Dean still had a chance to overcome the sickness raging through his body, and then the voice continued, "Only God can truly know when it is a man's time to die, and I can assure that it is not this day. Now, you need to do what you know in your heart is the right thing to do. And even if it is his time to die, no man should have to die alone."

As the faint breeze died away and the golden glimmer faded, Rowan opened his eyes to find he was alone in the sanctuary. "Thank you," he murmured, and smiled as he glanced up at the old wooden cross once more.

He rose to stand, slowly walked down the aisle, and headed out of the church. Once inside the Chevelle again, he grabbed for his phone, dialed a number and waited until he heard someone answer.

"McCarran International Airport, how may I help you?"

"Yes, this Alexander Cole of Cole Steel Industries, I need my private jet fueled and made ready for take off as soon as possible."

"Just one moment, sir, and I will get you an estimated time of departure and an ETA. Where are you planning to travel to?"

"North Carolina."

After a long pause, in which Rowan heard the woman on the other end of the line typing on a computer, she finally came back on the line and said, "We can have your plane fueled and ready for take off within the next two hours with an ETA of 1:45 a.m. at the Charlotte Douglas International Airport."

"Thanks, I'll have one other passenger with me."

"Very good, sir, we'll be expecting you."

Hanging up with the airport attendant, Rowan quickly dialed another number, and waited until he heard a man answer.

"Fletcher's Shipping and Freight, this is Ed speaking, how can I help you?"

"Ed, this is Artemis Fletcher, and I need a car transported to North Carolina on your next outgoing freight train to that destination."

"Yes, sir, Mr. Fletcher," Ed's tone turned very accommodating as he heard the owner of the company was calling, "let me just check the books for the next available train to North Carolina." Ed paused for a moment, and then came back on the line. "We can have it shipped out of here tomorrow on a nine a.m. train and it should reach North Carolina by Thursday evening at the latest."

"Good, I'll drop it off within the hour." Snapping his phone shut, Rowan got back in the Chevelle to travel back to the motel to pick up Dean.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

After hearing the sound of hope in Sam's voice, Dean dragged himself out of bed, and slowly began the daunting task of gathering his clothes and gear together. With or without Rowan's help, he wasn't about to give up just yet. As the room shifted in and out of focus, Dean packed away his belongings in his duffel, and slung it over his shoulder.

If he could just make it to North Carolina on his own, Bobby might be able to figure out a cure for whatever was wrong with him. With that thought in mind, he opened the door and headed outside. A quick glance around the parking lot, had him shaking his head in clear disbelief.

"That sonuvabitch," he breathed angrily as he slumped back against the door frame. "He stole my freakin' car."


	2. Chapter 2

New chappy, hope everyone enjoys!! This story is running parallel to gengeno776's story It only Hurts to Breathe...she will be writing Sam and Jax's storyline and I will be focusing on Dean and Rowan's storyline...please let us know what you think!! bambers;)

_Chapter Two_

Dean leaned heavily against the doorframe, staring at the empty parking spot that once was filled by his Chevelle, and felt the last stores of hope dwindling from him. With his hands now trembling so badly, he highly doubted that he would be able to break into a car, much less to hot-wire it, and realized that Rowan would have had to have known that when he took Dean's car. He had trusted Rowan with his life, and the vampire had proven without a shadow of a doubt that the only good vampire was a dead vampire.

Shoulders slumping, his duffel slipped down his arm and fell to the ground, but he scarcely noticed as his thoughts turned once again to Sam. Along with the hope he'd heard in his little brother's voice, there was also such a sense of overwhelming sadness that Dean was forced to wonder if what Jax had said to him was the truth. _What if there isn't anything left for me to go back to when this is all over? What if he can't forgive me for what I put him through? _A wry smile pulled at the corners of his lips as he sadly realized that he might never even get the chance to find out if Sam would forgive him.

Dean kicked aside the duffel and trudged back inside the room, slamming the door shut behind him. Bracing himself against the wall for support, he edged himself across the room, and fell onto the couch, not having the strength to go any further. With thoughts of Sam still on his mind, he yanked out his cell phone again. This time, however, instead of calling Sam he hit the button to call Jax.

"Hello," Jax finally answered after several rings.

"Jax, it's D-Dean," he paused for a few moments as he tried to figure out what he wanted to say to the younger man. Drawing in a deep breath, he finally continued, "Jus' w-wanted to thank you for watchin' out for S-Sammy."

"Umm . . . can ya hold on for a sec?"

"Yeah," Dean said as he glanced around the gaudily furnished motel room Rowan had rented for them, "I'm n-not goin' anywhere."

As Dean listened, he heard Jax say that he need to take the phone call in private, and then heard Sam mutter that he understood in response. After a few minutes, Jax returned to the phone.

"Dean, I know I took yer amulet, an' I'm really sorry about it, but I jus' can't come back ta Vegas right now."

"Not askin' y-ya to," Dean muttered as he closed his eyes and pressed one of his palms into his temple, trying to alleviate a little of the pain that was gathering there. "Jus' w-wanted to . . . look, if I don't call ya back by Friday, I w-want ya ta tell Sammy somethin' for me, 'kay?"

"Dean, what's wrong?" Jax asked, and Dean could clearly hear the concern in his tone. "I talked ta Rowan, an' he said if I didn't get the amulet back ta ya, you'd die. Is that true?"

After Rowan had made sure that Dean was left stranded at the motel with no hope of getting to Jax in time, Dean was somewhat surprised that the vampire had called the younger hunter.

"Naww . . . m'okay. Jus' a lil' t-tired."

"Ya sure?" Jax hesitated for a moment, drawing in a deep breath before adding, "look, I could make up some kind of excuse an' ask Sam ta turned around an' come back there if ya want."

"N-no . . . still have a lil' under f-five months to g-go . . . if h-he comes back h-here now, I'll n-never make it."

"Dean, I know I probably asked before, but if not, then why is it so damn important that ya stay away from Sam for six months?"

Dean thought for a moment to lie to Jax, but then realized that if he died, he would want there to be someone who could tell Sam exactly why he hadn't tried to contact him at all. "W-went to the crossroads when m-my deal came due."

"Yeah, Sam told me all that," Jax interjected, clearly not interested in anything other than what he had asked, but for him to understand, Dean needed to tell him everything.

"Instead of a d-demon there to meet me," Dean wavered for a moment, wondering if Jax would actually believe an angel had been there to greet him instead. "Instead of a demon . . . an Archangel was there."

"So what does this have ta do with you and Sam?"

"H-he offered me a chance to get my soul back free an' clear if I g-gave him six months of my life to protect a little boy named Joshua."

"Joshua?" Jax fell silent again, his breath suddenly increasing as if panicked by what Dean had just said. "His name is Joshua?"

"Yeah," Dean quirked a brow in confusion, at first not understanding why Joshua's name should bother Jax so much, but then remembered how Rowan had told him that Joshua was Jax. Yet he highly doubted that Jax would know that or he would have been even more freaked out than he already sounded. "Do you know about him?"

"No," Jax finally responded after a long pause, "it's jus' . . . well, I never told this ta anyone before, but my name's Joshua . . . an' the night those demons broke into my home, Rowan told my mom ta change my name, an' move away. Course we never ended up movin', but she did have my name legally changed." He hesitated for another moment, and Dean could almost feel the fear in his voice when he finally continued, "Think that's just a coincidence? I mean . . . there's a helluva lot of Joshua's in the world, but I'm not thinkin' that many of them can do the kinds of things I can do."

"Sure it's j-jus' a coincidence," Dean lied, not knowing how much he should tell the younger man, so hastily continued on with his story. "But, as I w-was sayin' . . . Michael told me tha' if I let Sa-Sammy know I w-was alive within the s-s-six months while I was taken care of Joshua, I would lose m-my soul an' go straight to Hell."

"You could've told me all of this before, Dean, so why are ya tellin me now?" There was pure accusation and concern in the younger man's tone as he said this. "Is what Rowan said true? Are ya dyin'?"

"N-not at the moment," Dean tried to laugh but it ended up sounding more like a pain-filled groan. "J-jus' wanted ya to know . . . jus' in case . . . ."

"I'm gonna tell Sam we need ta turn around an' come — "

"No," Dean was quick to cut him off, "d-don't you freakin' dare . . . I can't let Sam watch me die . . . I jus' can't. He's already suffered enough, an' I c-can't put him through that again."

"So why are ya tellin' me all this if ya don't want me ta bring Sam back there?"

"I dunno . . . g-guess cause you're the only one I could tell it to."

"Ya said ya wanted me ta tell him somthin'?"

"Yeah . . . ." Dean paused to wipe the moisture from his eyes as he thought of all the things he wanted to say to his brother, but when he finally answered Jax, the only thing he could think to say was, "tell him I'm s-sorry for everything, an' that I n-never meant to hurt him." With that, Dean snapped his phone shut, hanging up on Jax.

Dean drew up his knees to his chest and curled his arms tightly around his head as another heated wave of pain crashed over him. His clothes, now sodden with sweat clung to him, and he shivered despite feeling as if his body were on fire. Though the haze of pain, a steady thrum of heartbeats reached his ears, and upon hearing them his fangs ripped though his gums as his stomach clenched painfully.

"No. No. No. No. No . . . not now . . .pl-please not now," he cried out, knowing that without Rowan around to stop him, he wouldn't be able to resist the temptation of killing someone to gorge on their blood. Pressing his palms into his ears, he desperately tried to block out both the searing pain building inside his head and the constant beat of the hearts of other motel patrons, with little success.

"Here, drink this, Dean," came Rowan's reassuring voice from just above him as he shoved his bloodied wrist under Dean's nose. "An' for the love of God and all that's holy, don't bite down so hard this time."

Startled that he hadn't even heard the vampire enter the motel room, Dean jumped. Pushed Rowan's hand away, he glared up at him in disgust. "You stole my freakin' car, you sonuvabitch."

"Hey, I brought the damn thing back didn't I?" Rowan chuckled. "Even filled up the gas tank, if it makes ya feel any better."

"No, f-for some damn reason, it jus' makes me wanna kick yer ass even more."

"So you missed me then," Rowan dropped down onto the couch, propped his foot up on the coffee table, and casually rested an arm on is leg. "Did anyone ever tell you that you have serious attachment issues. I mean seriously, I was only gone for what, maybe an hour and a half at the most, an' I come back to find you curled up in the fetal position."

"You really do want me to kick your ass, don't ya?"

"Dean, someday I'd really love to see you try. But not today cause when I whip your ass, I don't want ya to say it was cause you were dying an' I had an unfair advantage."

"So why'd ya come back?" Dean asked as he wiped away the sweat dripping from his forehead and then brushed his hand through the length of his neon blue mohawk. "You forgot something?"

"Naww . . . I just thought this was such a great motel room, I just couldn't bear to leave it." Rowan cast a winsome smile in Dean's direction as he once again shoved his bleeding wrist under Dean's nose. "Think maybe I should buy the place. Real estate's always a good investment from what I've heard."

"Well, seein' as I'm leavin' your sorry ass here, you'll have plenty of time to enjoy it, now won't you," Dean muttered as he grabbed hold of Rowan's arm and bite down extra hard on his wrist. The tantalizingly salty-sweet taste of blood filled his mouth as it rushed past his tongue and slid down the back of his throat, and unconsciously he let out a deep sigh of relief.

"Look, Dean," Rowan's tone and expression turned serious as he chanced a glance in Dean's direction. "Figure the best you've got is four or five days left if you don't get your amulet back. You'll never make it cross country in that time on your own, much less be able to find Jax. So you can be pissed at me all you want, but I am gonna try an' help you."

"Don't need your freakin' help," Dean uttered as he swiped the back of his hand across his mouth then licked away the traces of blood from his fingertips. "I can do this on my own."

"Huh, okay, if that's the way you feel." Rowan stood so abruptly that Dean thought he really intended to leave him again, and instantly regretted what he had just said. Yanking Dean's car keys out of the front pocket of his jeans, Rowan dangled them in front of him. "How about this, if you can get your keys away from me then I'll let you go, won't even try to stop you in fact. But if you can't, we do things my way. Is it a deal, Dean?" He smirked, clearly believing that Dean was in no condition to accept the challenge. "I know how much you really like to make deals you can't possibly win, so I'm guessin' you'll agree," he further taunted as he jingled the keys in front of Dean's face.

"Give me my damn car keys, Rowan," Dean's hand darted out to grab for them, but Rowan jerked his arm away.

"Nope," Rowan's grin grew even wider, "like I said, you'll have to take them from me if you want them so damn bad."

Dean lowered his head as if to concede, but when Rowan relaxed his posture a little, Dean launched himself off the couch and barreled into the vampire's stomach, driving him forward until he stumbled and they both went crashing to the ground. Now having the advantage, Dean scrambled upward onto Rowan's stomach and slammed a fist into his friend's face, followed quickly by another solid punch to the jaw. He cocked back his fist to strike again, but this time Rowan caught his hand mid-strike, twisted it, and dislodged Dean.

Rowan was on his feet in a shot, with Dean following at a much slower pace. Ruefully rubbing his jaw, Rowan let out a short barking laugh. "If that's the best you've got, Dean, this is gonna take less time than I thought."

Dean drew in a shaky breath, swiped away the sweat dripping into his eyes, and launched himself forward again, slamming his fist into Rowan's gut. As his hand connected with Rowan's stomach, Dean lost his balance, stumbled and would have fallen backward to the ground if Rowan hadn't grabbed hold of his t-shirt and held him upright.

"You know," Rowan quirked a mirthful brow, "if this were a real fight, I would've let you fall on your ass just then."

"Yeah, th-thanks for that." Dean rolled his eyes as he grabbed hold of Rowan's shoulders, and pushed downward on them as he brought his knee up into the vampire's gut. From the force of the blow, Rowan lost his hold on Dean's shirt, and Dean stumbled backward and slammed into the couch before he crumbled to the ground.

"Are you just about finished, Dean," Rowan asked between panted breaths as he hunched over and gripped his arm firmly around his stomach, "cause I'm jus' about ready to start fighting back if you aren't."

"Y-yeah," Dean muttered as he gasped for breath, "I'm g-good . . . ."

"Good cause we have a plane to catch in about an' hour." Still hunched over, Rowan rested his hands on his knees as he glanced up at Dean through shaggy bangs and smirked. "An' I hate to have to say this, but you really need a shower cause there isn't a chance in hell you're gettin' on my jet smelling like you do."


	3. Chapter 3

Another new chappy...Thanks fpr reading and for the really great reviews! This story is running parallel to gengeno776's story It only Hurts to Breathe...she will be writing Sam and Jax's storyline and I will be focusing on Dean and Rowan's storyline...please let us know what you think!! bambers;)

_Chapter Three_

"There's no way in hell I'm gettin' on a plane with you." Dean shook his head emphatically as he pulled himself up onto the couch. There was also no way in hell that Dean would ever willingly admit to Rowan that he was afraid to fly. "We're drivin' to North Carolina."

"Ohh . . . no, we're not," Rowan argued as he grabbed for Dean's duffel and yanked out clean clothes for him to wear. "It'll take at least two days to drive there, an' that's driving non-stop. If we fly it'll take about five hours. So we are flyin' since you really don't have the time to spare."

Dean knew he couldn't very well argue with Rowan's logic, but after the last plane he was on with Sam nearly crashed, he had vowed never to step foot on one again. "W-we could take a train."

"We're taking my jet, so get your ass movin'. We have to drop the Chevelle off to be shipped to North Carolina before we go to the airport." Rowan shoved Dean's clothes into his arms, and bobbed his head toward the bathroom.

"Think I'll stay with the car. All my weapons are inside the trunk, an' if anyone finds them — "

"Why don't you wanna fly, Dean?" Rowan crossed his arms as a smirking grin slowly spread across his face. "Damn, don't tell me you're afraid to fly?" A short laugh issued past his lips as Dean lowered his head in response to the question. "Huh, now that's funny. Dean Winchester, afraid to fly, I never would have guessed it."

"We're so not havin' this discussion," Dean fumed as he stormed to his feet with his clean clothes clutched tightly to his chest and headed for the bathroom. "An' just for the record, I never said I was afraid of flyin', it's the crashin' part I'm not too thrilled with."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Although Dean had stalled as long as he possibly could in the bathroom, he finally reemerged, freshly showered and fully dressed. He stopped short when he glanced in Rowan's direction and saw that the vampire was now dressed in a perfectly tailored black business suit with an equally black silk shirt beneath it. Rowan had combed and tied his long unruly hair back in a knot at the nape of his neck, and for all intended purposes looked the part of a rich entrepreneur. Yet true to the vamp Dean had come to know, Rowan left the first three or four buttons on his silk shirt undone, exposing a good portion of his muscular chest. The vampire was busy fixing the cuffs on his suit coat, and hadn't even noticed Dean was gawking at him in utter disbelief until he glanced up and their eyes locked.

"What the hell are you wearing?" Dean asked as he gestured toward Rowan's clothes.

"It's Armani," Rowan answered as if it should have been obvious. "Would've probably bought you a suit to wear as well, but what with the mohawk an' all," he made a sweeping circular motion around Dean's face, "well, you have eyeliner on, an' I jus' didn't think you could pull off lookin' as good as I do in it."

"Huh, I'm startin' to like the mohawk an' eyeliner more and more by the moment."

"I'm a business man, Dean, couldn't very well show up at the airport in jeans an' a t-shirt now could I?"

"No, you're a freakin' smug-assed vampire," Dean huffed as he stuffed his dirty clothes in his duffel and headed for the door.

"Yeah, but I'm a rich smug-assed vampire," Rowan chuckled as he followed after Dean.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

When they had dropped off the Chevelle, and had subsequently boarded the private jet that Rowan had owned, Dean had learned a few very important things about his friend. Rowan had about as many, if not more, aliases as Dean did. Although unlike Dean, each of Rowan's aliases were exceedingly wealthy, and the vampire was apparently very generous with his employees. People eagerly did his bidding, and were rewarded generously for their efforts.

"Do people usually always fall over themselves to help you," Dean asked as he buckled the belt on his wide, tan leather cushioned seat as tightly as he possibly could.

"Usually," Rowan chuckled as he grabbed for the remote and flipped on the wide screen television at the front of the plane, and started switching channels aimlessly.

"Why all the fake names?" Dean quirked a brow as he turned to look at his friend. "I mean, I know why I do it, but it's not like you're a hunter."

"Because eventually every one of them has to die. So I need to have a lot of them so people never begin to question why a hundred and fifty year old man is still alive and well an' running a corporation."

As weird as that sounded, Dean could actually see where it made perfect sense. "An' what happens when one of your aliases dies?"

"Well, by then I've already set up another dummy corporation in which I buy myself out, let all my old employees go with very generous pensions, an' start over with a new name."

"Seems like that would be very time consuming."

Rowan shrugged, then raked his fingers through his hair, releasing it from the band that held it firmly to the nape of his neck. "Yeah, it is, but I've got nothing but time on my hands, Dean. An eternity's worth of time . . . ."

Sensing his friend's sudden sadness, Dean searched his mind for another subject to talk about as they waited for the plane to get ready for take off. "So, is your son a vamp?" he asked, his curiosity finally getting the better of him.

"No, Collin's not a vampire," Rowan rolled his eyes as he began to laugh. "He's like his mother."

"But if you're a vampire?"

"I know this may be a little known fact, but vampires aren't created by having sex, Dean."

Rowan fell silent as he swivelled in his seat to look out of the windows, and Dean could tell just by his tensed posture that Rowan really didn't want to talk about his son. As the cabin of the plane filled with a painful deafening silence, Dean slowly began to wonder about Collin's mother, and wondered why Rowan had never mentioned her to him. Even if he was a vampire, Dean realized that Rowan must have had some feelings for her.

"Is his mother still alive?" Dean asked before he could stop himself.

"No," Rowan mumbled without turning back to glance at Dean. "Genevieve died a long time ago."

"Ohh . . . I'm sorry, how'd she die?" Dean asked then mentally kicked himself for prying into Rowan's personal life. "You don't have to answer if you don't want to."

"Naww . . . it's okay." Rowan rubbed his hands over his eyes and then dragged them down to scrub across his stubbled jaw. "Killeon killed her when he found out Collin was my son an' not his."

"Huh . . . really," was all Dean could think to say to what he had just learned. Of course he knew that both vampires hated each other, but had just assumed it was more about a power play than anything deeper then that. Now Dean could completely understand why Rowan was so hellbent on beating the crap out of the other vampire, and was furious that Dean had stepped in. "So she wasn't a vampire? Killeon didn't try to turn her?"

"No, for as big of an ass as Killeon is, he really did love Genie. An' jus' like me, he could never do that to her."

"Excuse me, Mr. Cole," a voice came over the intercom, and silenced Dean from asking any more questions about Rowan's life. "You need to make sure your seats are buckled as we are preparing for take off."

As Dean heard the engines start up, and felt the jet begin to taxi down the runway, he squeezed his eyes shut as he white-knuckled the armrests. If it were even humanly possible his grip tightened further around the armrests as he pushed backward in his seat, feet pressed firmly into the floor as the jet cleared the runway.

"Oh, for the love of God, Dean, the plane's not gonna crash." Rowan chuckled. "So relax a little. An' hell even if it did, you're a freakin' vampire . . . I'm thinkin' you'd survive."

"Yeah, but with my freakin' luck, I'd probably be ejected from the plane, an' then it would crash right on top of me. An' that would really suck all to hell."

"Huh, maybe you're right, better tighten that seatbelt." Rowan cast a glance in Dean's direction, and couldn't help but laugh all the harder, tears springing to his eyes. "Course, then the whole damn seat might tear loose from the plane, an' you'd be trapped underneath it while strapped to a leather seat. So I guess you really are shit out of luck."

"Umm . . . you're so not helpin' matters here." Dean scowled at his friend as he reluctantly loosened his hold on the armrests.

Suddenly Rowan's eyes widened as he glanced around the interior of the plane, and then looked fearfully to Dean. "Did you just hear that noise?"

Dean hastily scanned the plane's cabin as he listened for the sound Rowan had heard, but saw and heard nothing that he would consider threatening in the least. "I didn't hear anything." His concern and panic grew as Rowan continued to look around for wherever the noise had come from.

"Nope, I definitely heard something," Rowan said with a slight nod, and then tilted his head toward the side of the plane. "Think we might've just blown an' engine. Think I should go an' check?" He burst out laughing once again as Dean threw a storm of curse words in his direction.

"I really don't like you at all, you know that right?" Dean said as he once again readjusted his grip on his armrests.

"Well, it's a good thing we're both vampires an' can fly if this damn jet ever did go down, isn't it. It's actually really kind of cool if you bother to think about it."

"We can fly?" Dean eyebrows rose considerably as he suddenly felt more at ease with the whole situation. Of course he had seen in old movies that vampires could fly, but had always believed that to be a myth. "Yeah, that is pretty freakin' cool."

"Naww . . . I'm just lyin' to ya again." Rowan rolled his eyes, clearly not believing that Dean would have fallen for that story. "An' you know the thing about vampires loving bats, and bats always being around them . . . well, that's not true either. I hate bats." he shivered involuntarily. "They're jus' all . . . ." he shuddered again, "I just don't like them."

"You're afraid of bats?" Dean asked incredulously, and let out a weak chuckle himself, feeling much better about his fear of flying.

"Didn't say I was afraid of them, just said I don't like them. There's a big difference."

"What else don't you like, Rowan?" Dean asked as he began to feel a burning pressure building behind his eyes again, but tried to ignore it.

"Bugs . . . I don't like bugs. As far as I'm concerned they're totally freakin' worthless as far as living creatures are concerned. I'm mean what other purpose do they serve besides being totally freakin' annoying?"

"Huh, never really thought about it like that before, but you're probably right."

"An' rats . . . rats are just freakin' bats without wings."

"So you're not afraid of Lucifer, but basically anything with wings or little gnawing teeth scare the hell out ya?" It was Dean's turn to laugh at his friend. However his laughter all too quickly faded away as it was replaced by a pain-filled groan. Wrapping his hands around his neck, he pressed his forearms against the sides of face as he lowered his head to his chest. Tears sprung to his eyes as he let out another weak gasping moan.

"You okay, Dean?" Rowan unbuckled his seatbelt and was kneeling beside Dean within a heartbeat.

"N-not one t-to usually s-say this . . . b-but I'm so n-not okay."

"Look, I know it hurts like hell, but I swear to ya, we're gonna fix this." With the back of his hand, Rowan felt Dean's forehead, and cursed under his breath when he felt the heat radiating off of his friend. "'Kay, we gotta do something to try an' get your fever to come down a bit or your brain's gonna fry." Unbuckling Dean's seatbelt, Rowan helped his friend to his feet.

"S-so . . .wh-where we goin'," Dean mumbled, his voice hardly above a whisper. "A-are we th-there already?" His head lolled to the side to rest on Rowan's shoulder as he leaned all his weight into the vampire's sturdy frame.

"Naww . . . jus' gonna get ya into the shower to cool down." Rowan readjusted his hold on Dean, wrapping his arm firmly around the younger man's waist.

"S-so not gonna t-take a shower with ya, dude," Dean's head dropped back onto his shoulders as he glanced up into Rowan's eyes.

"Don't worry, I wasn't lookin' to initiate you into the mile high club, Dean." With his hand still on Dean's lower back, Rowan guided his friend into the plane's bathroom, and flipped on the water in the shower. "Alright, I'll be waitin' just outside the door if ya need me." He released his hold on Dean to hitched a thumb over his shoulder, only to have to quickly grab hold of his ailing friend again as his knees buckled and he almost did a nose dive into the porcelain sink. "'Kay, so maybe I won't leave."

Stepping into the shower, Rowan carefully maneuvered Dean around so that he was facing the tepid water streaming from the gold-plated showerhead. Dean bucked and squirmed in Rowan's arms as he began to shiver violently. Rowan held firmly to him knowing if he didn't get his friend's fever to come down a little, Dean might not even make it until the plane landed. With his arms still wrapped around Dean's waist, he slid down the wall into a sitting position, dragging the younger man down to the ground with him.

"I-it's . . . it's s'c-cold," Dean's teeth chattered loudly as he spoke. "J-jus' wanna g-get out."

"I know it feels that way, but it's really not." Rowan wiped away the water dripping down into his eyes from his drench bangs, then pushed the thick clumps of dark hair to the side of his face. "An' I so gotta tell you right now, you owe me a new suit when we get to North Carolina. Cause as I clearly said before, this is Armani."

"We'll add th-that ta the p-payback list for the earrin'." A faint smile flitted across Dean's features before it faded to a grimace. Squinching his eyes tightly shut, Dean cried out as he gripped a hold of Rowan's arm. "Ohh . . .guhh . . . it fr-freakin' h-hurts, Rowan."

"Believe me, I know it does . . . I've lived through it before." Rowan hesitated for a moment, hating the thought of what he had to say next, but knew it had to be said. "An' from experience, I gotta tell ya it's gonna get worse, Dean, a helluva lot worse."

"I . . . I'm n-not gonna make it," Dean glanced up into Rowan's eyes with a looked that clearly asked the vampire to tell him the truth, "am I?"

"If I lived through it, so can you."

"S-so not v-very reassuring seein' as y-you can't die."

"Huh, never really thought about it that way before. An' here I was always thinkin' how really amazing I was for having lived through it."

"Y-you really s-suck . . . you know th-that, right?"

"Naw . . . only when I bite, Dean," Rowan smirked, his lips parting to show perfectly straight white teeth. "But otherwise, I'd have to say that I'm really the best damn vampire you'll ever have the luck of knowing."

Although the water spraying down on them was rapidly beginning to grow colder, Rowan could still feel the heat rolling off of Dean in waves. Lifting a hand to his friend's forehead, Rowan shook his head in frustration when he realized that if anything Dean's temperature had increased while in the shower.

"This isn't working. We need to try something else," and even as Rowan said this, his mind raced to find some other way in which to help the younger man. "You trust me, Dean?"

"B-beginning to hate wh-when you ask that."

"Yeah, I know." Rowan chuckled, droplets of water falling from his hair to splash in Dean's eyes and onto his face. "But just answer the question."

"You know I d-do."

"Alright," Rowan heaved a worried sigh as he shifted Dean in his arms, "here's what we're gonna do . . . ." He hesitated, terrified that if he was wrong, he might just matters worse for his friend. "I'm gonna try an' bleed out some of your blood . . . an' I'm kinda hopin' it'll lower your fever, an' buy us some more time."

"S-so . . . not l-likin' the . . . s-sound of this plan," Dean uttered between gasping breaths as he reluctantly dropped his head backward exposing the bluish veins in his neck.

"Yeah, I know, an' believe me, I'm not likin' it any better than you." Rowan wavered for a moment as his fangs painfully pushed through his gumline, and he dropped his head back on to his shoulder. "You're sure you trust me?" he asked again, knowing that he could be very well killing his only friend if he was wrong.

"Yeah, j-jus . . . get it over w-with," Dean muttered as he pressed his eyes closed and arched his body upward into Rowan.

A deep guttural groan escaped Rowan as his head snapped forward and he descended on Dean's neck, biting firmly into the younger man's throat. Vile acrid tasting blood surged into Rowan's mouth, and burned as it slid down the back of his throat. Dean kicked and squirmed in his arms as Rowan turned his head to the side, and spit out a mouthful of blood. Then he hastily plunged his fangs deeper into his friend's neck again, gorging himself on the thickly tainted blood.

"R-Row-an . . . st-stop," Dean pleaded as he weakly pushed against Rowan's chest.

After spitting out yet another mouthful of blood, Rowan uttered in a strained husky voice, "Can't, Dean . . . I think it's working."

As Rowan bit into Dean's flesh again, and sucked in deeply, the nauseating taste nearly overpowered him. Gagging, blood spilled from between his fangs and slipped down the sides of Dean's neck. Dean trembled and jerked in Rowan's arms, his arms and legs flailing as his eyelids fluttered open and closed. The young hunter drew in a rapid gasping breath, shuddering as he exhaled. With one more shallow breath, Dean went completely still.

"Dean!" Rowan's head snapped up, and he hastily shook his seemingly lifeless friend, trying to wake him. "Dean . . . come on, man, don't do this to me!" He shook Dean more emphatically, trying desperately to rouse him, to no avail. "Not gonna let you die on me. So wake the hell up!"


	4. Chapter 4

so new chappy!! thanks for reading and for all the really great reviews!! make sure to check out Gengen0776's story It Only Hurt's to Breathe, as you will get to read the other side of all the back and forth phone conversations going on throughout the story. thanks again!! bambers;)

_Chapter Four_

As Dean heard Rowan's strong heartbeat beside him, he struggled to find his way back to the edges of consciousness. At the sound of two other fairly steady heartbeats somewhere within the plane's cabin, Dean's eyelids fluttered open. Once his eyes had adjusted to the overly dim light, Dean glanced downward and realized he was only wearing a pair of clean boxers and was resting on a queen-sized bed. Although he felt slightly cooler, a fine sheen of sweat glistened from his fevered skin, and pooled in the slight hollow of his chest.

He tilted his head to the side, and found Rowan sitting beside the bed, his head lowered, dark wispy bangs trailing downward to partially cover his face. Although his deep green eyes were closed as he rested his head on clasped hands, Dean knew the vampire was aware that he was studying him.

Without raising his head, Rowan finally uttered in a hoarse, raspy whisper, "Your fever's down a bit."

"What's wrong with your voice?" Dean asked in concern, and then as he glanced down at his boxers again, he added, "An' why am I only wearin' boxers?"

"You're freakin' blood burned the hell out of my throat." Rowan leaned back in his cushioned chair, and casually stretched out his long legs as he raked his fingers through his unruly hair. "An' as for your second question, you were soaking wet, an' now your not."

"You didn't . . . I mean — "

"No, Dean," Rowan smirked, "there's many things I'd do to help you out, but gettin' you undressed is definitely not one of them."

"Then who?"

The vampire nudged his head toward the corner of the plane's cabin, and Dean followed his gaze and saw two female flight attendants quietly chatting amongst themselves. "At first it was jus' Mindy who was gettin' ya undressed, but when she got to your jeans, well, Carly just offered to help you out of them." Rowan refocused his attention on Dean, and quirked a brow. "Think you should feel extremely grateful to them, an' maybe just a little bit violated as well."

Dean eyed the leggy red-head and noticed how she gave him a look of subtle disgust mingled with something akin to outright curiosity. "Why she lookin' at me like that?"

"Isn't it obvious, Dean?" Rowan rolled his eyes as he leaned forward in his seat to block Dean's view of the two women. "Both of us coming out of the bathroom soaking wet, an' you hardly being able to stand upright. She thought we . . . well, she thought I switched teams, an' she was a little pissed."

"You mean she thought we . . . I mean, she thinks that you an' me . . . that we . . . ." Dean's voice trailed off, not knowing how to finish his sentence. "You set her straight, right?"

"Yeah, I had sex with her . . . we're all good now."

"You what?" Dean asked incredulously as he stared in disbelief at his friend.

"You were out of it, I was bored . . . an' she was more than willing . . . do I need to say more?" Rowan cast a rakish grin in Dean's direction.

"Surprised you didn't do it with the other one as well," Dean muttered as he glared at Rowan, furious that he could have died and the vampire was busy getting his rocks off.

"Who says I didn't, Dean." Rowan's grin widened. "Vampires are very sexual creatures, an' I gotta admit I'm more sexual than most."

"Sam never would've — "

"I'm not Sam." The vampire's grin faltered briefly as he looked back over his shoulder at the two women, and then turned back to Dean. "What was I supposed to do, Dean? I really didn't have much choice in the matter. It was either have sex with them or fire the whole damn crew cause I really don't want Bob, the co-pilot hitting on me. An' let me tell ya somethin' he's been eyeing me up for sometime now."

Dean pushed himself upward on the bed, and blinked hard as the plane's cabin suddenly turned dark and hazy. He pressed his eyes closed tightly again when his vision still hadn't cleared, but when he opened them, he still couldn't see any better. After several more attempts to clear his vision had failed, he opened his mouth to tell Rowan about it, but then snapped it shut. There was no way in hell he was going to give the vampire another reason to argue with him about how biting Lucifer was such a horrible idea. Dean had already figured that much out himself, and really didn't need any more reminders.

"How much longer till we get there?" Dean rubbed his eyes as he tried his damnedest not to focus his attention on the fact that everything seemed to be growing darker and darker as the moments tick by. "An' how are we gonna find Jax once we get there?"

"About another hour or so." It looked as if Rowan wanted to say something more, but the sound of his cell phone ringing, cut him short. The vampire yanked his cell phone from his pocket, eyed the caller id screen, and let out a muffled groan. "I gotta take this, Dean."

Flipping open his cell, he heaved another irritated sigh, and then said, "This better be damn important, Jamie-O. Cause I swear to God, if ya tell me you're overdrawn again, an' need some money, I'll cut you off without a dime."

"You know that only happened one time, Rowan," Jamie uttered, his voice sounding exceedingly strain which immediately set off warning bells in Rowan's head.

"Is something wrong with Collin?" Rowan's grip tightened around the phone as he remembered Killeon's warning that if Rowan killed him then Collin would die. He had been so busy helping Dean, it had completely slipped his mind that vampires were watching his only son. "Damn it, I told you to keep an' eye on him. Made it perfectly clear that it was part of your job."

"It's not about Collin," Jamie quickly assured. "It's . . . it's Becca."

Rowan's heart lunged into the pit of his stomach, knowing that if Jamie was calling him, it had to be about her heart condition. As she was the only female, and also the very first member of the Brethren, he had spent far more time with her than any of the others and reluctantly had grown to care for her.

"What happened to her?" he asked, lowering his voice as he looked to Dean, and noticed how the younger man was constantly fidgeting with his eyes. "Is it her heart?"

"How the hell did ya know?" Jamie's voice raised in confusion, and Rowan could just imagine the look in the younger man's bluish-green eyes.

"Is she in the hospital?" Rowan asked, completely ignoring his question. He looked to Dean once more, and noticed how his friend was now blinking rapidly and rubbing more fiercely at his eyelids. "Jus' a sec, Jamie-O, I have to check on something."

Not waiting for Jamie-O to reply, he pulled the phone away from his ear, and moved to sit beside Dean on the bed. "What the hell's wrong with your eyes?" he asked as he pulled Dean's hands away from his face to look into the younger man's eyes. Instead of the usual light shade of green Rowan was use to seeing, a milky-white film now covered Dean's whole right cornea and was partially covering the left. "Damn it, Dean," he growled, "how much can you see?"

"I'm thinkin' if you move a little bit closer, I might jus' be able to make out your face," Dean muttered as jerked free of Rowan's hold on him. "M'okay, Rowan, my eyes are jus' a lil' tired is all."

"Tired eyes, huh?" Rowan gave a curt nod. "Tell me how many fingers I'm holding up," he asked although he didn't even raise a hand.

Dean narrowed his eyes until they were mere slits, and then hesitantly replied, "four?"

"Try none, Dean." Cupping a hold of Dean's chin, Rowan tilted his face so he could get a better look into the hunter's eyes. "You can't see a damn thing, can you?"

"Rowan, jus' stop this . . . s-said I was fine." From the expression of pure unadulterated fear that had settled on Dean's haggard features, Rowan understood his friend was terrified that he would never see again, but was trying his damnedest to put up a brave front. "I mean, after all, you can see, right? So it has to be only temporary."

Although Rowan had never lost his sight when he had suffered through the same ordeal as Dean, he just couldn't bring himself to tell his friend the truth. "Yeah," he mumbled as he lowered his head, not liking it one bit that he had to lie to Dean. "I'm sure you're gonna be okay once the worst of it has passed."

Rowan lifted the phone back to his ear. "Look, Jamie-O — "

"Damn, I didn't think you were ever comin' back to the freakin' phone," Jamie muttered, cutting Rowan off.

"Jus' tell me what hospital Becca's at so I can make arrangements for her." Rowan heaved another weary sigh as he waited for Jamie to give him the information.

"She's at Presbyterian."

"Alright, I'll give them a call. Jus' make sure that only people you or Luke know personally get in to see her. Got me?"

"Don't worry, no one's gonna get past Luke. He's with her right now, an' I doubt he'll leave her side for even a second."

"Good." Rowan thought again of his son and Killeon's warning, and could stop himself from asking, "How's Collin? You haven't noticed anyone following him at all, have you?"

"Nope, no one's been followin' him." Jamie fell silent for a moment, and Rowan heard him sigh deeply into the phone. "You know, Rowan, it's jus' not right what you're makin' me do. I mean, he thinks we're jus' friends an' all. Actually freakin' called me his best damn friend the other day."

"Just do the damn job I'm payin' you to do cause if anything happens to my son, I'm comin' after you."

"An' what if he finds out yer payin' me to be his friend? What am I supposed to do then?"

"You're a perpetual liar, Jamie-O, do what you do best . . . con him into believing whatever you say," Rowan replied in a cold and callous manner.

"Why me, Rowan?" Jamie took a deep breath, and Rowan sensed that the younger man was trying to gain his courage to stand up to him. "Why can't Lochlan or Jay do it?"

"Cause I asked you. You're the same age as Collin an' you both have similar backgrounds so why shouldn't you be friends."

"Similar backgrounds," Jamie let out a wry laugh, "so Collin grew up on the streets, too? Funny he really doesn't seem the type. But I guess he's must be hidin' it real well behind that I'm a rich boy who can afford whatever the hell I want exterior."

"Jus' keep an' eye on him, Jamie-O," Rowan snapped, at the end of his patience. "An' I want you to call me if you have even the slightest feeling he's in danger. I'll be in North Carolina in about an hour. Have Lochlan go to the hospital to help watch over Becca cause I want you at my penthouse suite when I get there. Understand?"

"Yeah, but Lochlan's not gonna like this."

"I don't give a rat's ass what Lochlan likes or doesn't like, just as long as he's there when I go to see Becca."

"Gotcha," came Jamie's curt response, and Rowan had a feeling the younger man was about to say more, but he never got the chance as Rowan hung up on him.

Rowan pocketed his phone and refocused his attention on Dean. He waved his hand in front of Dean's face to gage how bad off younger man's eyesight was, and swore under his breath when Dean gave no indication that he had even noticed. The vampire slipped off the bed and began to pace the expanse of the jet's cabin as he mulled over what would happen to Joshua if Dean's vision never returned. But by Rowan's best estimation, there was no way in hell Dean could possibly protect the little boy from Lucifer or Killeon if he couldn't see.

"Dean," Rowan called out, and Dean turned his head toward the sound of his voice. "I figure that Sam and Jax got about a day's head start on us, so they should make it to North Carolina by sometime late tomorrow night."

"So we go an' get Joshua from Bobby then have Jax meet us when he gets there. I get my amulet back, an' everything goes back to normal." Dean said, and detected the moment that Rowan's heartbeat quickened. Sheer panic washed over him, a shiver of fear racing down the length of his spine when Rowan didn't immediately answer. "What is it, Rowan? What aren't you telling me?"

"It's nothing, Dean, I'm just worried about Collin."

Although Dean believed that was part of the reason for the vampire's sudden agitation, he also sensed that Rowan wasn't telling him something very important. "Think I know you pretty damn well by now, an' it's more than just Collin you're worried about. Is it . . . it's about my eyesight, isn't it?"

"Would ya just let it go." Rowan heaved a sigh as he once again moved to sit beside Dean. "I'm jus' tired an' have a lot of things on my mind. That's all."

Dean's heart skipped a beat at Rowan's evasive response. With trembling fingers, he touched his eyelids and felt a thick pasty substance oozing from beneath his lashes. "This never happened to you, did it?" he asked in a breathless whisper, although he was pretty sure he already knew the answer. When Rowan failed to response after several very long moments, Dean pressed further, "I'm asking you if you ever lost your damn sight when this happened to you?"

"What do you want me to say, Dean? You want me to tell you that this could be permanent? Or would you rather I lie to make you feel better?"

"You know this is your freakin' fault, don't you?" Dean's voice rose in anger and fear. "I've lost my eyesight because of you. I'm dying because of you."

Dean shot to his feet, lost his balance and tumbled forward into the chair beside the bed. Rowan hastily stood to help him, but Dean pushed the vampire away from him. He gripped a hold of the backrest, and lifted himself back to his feet. "When the plane lands, I want you out of my life. You've done nothin' but screw everything up since the moment I met you, an' I want nothin' more to do with you."

"Dean, you need my — "

"I don't need anything from you," Dean growled, his anger building as he groped around to find the wall of the plane, wanting to be as far away from Rowan as he could possibly get.

"You don't mean that," Rowan called out from somewhere behind Dean. "I'm tryin' my damnedest to help you."

"I sure as hell do." Dean lurched forward as the jet suddenly lost altitude, and fell face first into the couch lining the cabin wall. As he tried to right himself, strong turbulence once again caused the plane to rock to the left then just as abruptly shift to the right.

Rowan rushed to Dean's side, and helped him to his feet. Wrapping his arm around the younger man's waist, he helped Dean back to his seat. "Buckle your seatbelt," he ordered in a tone meant to brook no argument.

Dean hastily did as the vampire had told him to do, although his fingers were shaking so badly it took several tries before he finally heard the belt snap into place. "Damn well figures this plane's gonna crash cause you're on it with me," Dean snarled, shaking his head in disgust.

"Damn it, you know what?" Rowan snapped back as he tightened his own seatbelt around himself. "You can freakin' blame me because you're a vampire. An' if it makes you feel a helluva lot better about being blind or dyin' blame me for that, too. But this," he circled his finger in gesture around the plane, "this is not my fault cause last freakin' time I checked, I couldn't control the weather."

"Excuse me, Mr. Cole," came the pilot's voice over the intercom, "I've just been informed there's a line of dangerous electrical storms crossing the Appalachian Mountains. I'm sorry to have to inform you, but we'll have to make an emergency landing at the Knoxville McGhee Tyson Airport."

"See, Dean . . . not my fault. You freakin' pain in my ass," Rowan growled, his own temper now flaring.

"I wouldn't be on this plane if it wasn't for you. So the way I see it, this is your fault."

Dean's grip tightened on the armrests as the plane teetered again. A deep rumble shook the jet followed shortly by another and then another. Flashes of bright light, lit up the darkness outside the windows as they drew closer to the storm.

"Fine, have it your way, it's all my fault." Rowan shifted in his seat to look at the younger man, and had to chuckle despite his anger. "One question though," he said as he cocked a brow, the humor in his tone unmistakable.

"What's that?"

"If the plane does crash, which it probably will cause that's how I've planned this whole thing to turn out. Should I just leave you in the wreckage when I leave to go have dinner?" Rowan bit down on his lip to keep from laughing as he heard Dean curse under his breath. "Cause seriously, I'd love to help you get out from beneath the plane, but I don't want to go against your wishes or anything."


	5. Chapter 5

Thanks for reading and for all the really great reviews!! make sure to check out Gengen0776's story It Only Hurt's to Breathe, as you will get to read the other side of all the back and forth phone conversations going on throughout the story. thanks again!! bambers;)

_Chapter Five_

Collin slowly made his way downstairs, hoping to find that Bobby and Joshua had packed their gear together and had left while he was taking his shower. As he reached the landing, he took a look around, noticed Joshua's clothes still strewn around on the couches and chairs, and heaved a heavy groan. From the kitchen, Collin heard Bobby and Joshua's voices and made his way across the livingroom and came to stand at the entranceway.

"Thought you two would be gone by now?" Collin glanced down at his watch, tapped it with his finger, and then refocused his attention on Bobby. "I said two days. I meant two days. So pack your stuff up, an' get hell outta my house before I throw you both out on your asses."

Joshua was about to shovel a heaping spoonful of cereal into his mouth, but stopped abruptly when he heard Collin's threat. "I wanna stay here, Collin. Uncle Rowan said we could. An' da Chipmunk's never gonna find me if I'm gone."

With one look at the determination in the little boy's big blue eyes, Collin nearly relented. Reluctantly, he was forced to admit to himself that it had been nice to have company staying in his home. However, no matter how lonely he might have been from time to time, Collin would never willingly do anything that meant he was helping out his father.

"Look, kiddo, for as much as you think your _'Uncle Rowan'_ is this great and trustworthy guy, he basically sucks as a human being. He doesn't give a rat's ass about you or anyone else. Never has, never will." Collin raked his fingers through his thick black hair, wispy bangs falling back into his greenish-blue eyes the moment he was finished. "He cares about one thing an' one thing alone. His money."

"That's not true," Bobby, who had remained silent up to this point, finally spoke up. "I've taken a good look around the perimeter of this house, an' from everything I've seen, your father cares about protectin' you more than anything."

Collin threw up his hands in utter frustration. "You wanna believe in all that hoodoo, mumbo-jumbo crap, go right ahead. But none of those signs or symbols etched into the walls and gates amount to anything as far as I'm concerned." When Bobby still looked as if he might argue the importance of all Rowan had done for him, Collin further added, "It wasn't bad enough that the sonuvabitch wouldn't put me up for adoption so I could have a real family, but the real kick in the ass was that parents would never allow their kids to come here when I was younger cause they thought dear ol' dad was some sort of crazed Satanist."

"Some things are more important than whether the grossly uninformed like ya or not," Bobby uttered before downing his the rest of his coffee. He set the mug on the table, and then looked up at Collin, the sincerity in his deep chocolate brown eyes unmistakable. "I'm not about to sit here an' argue the unfairness of yer life. An' maybe ya don't know yer father at all, but I can tell ya this much, he lives in a kinda world that you can't even begin to understand or fathom. An' I'd have to say, he's done the best by you that he possibly can."

"He does, huh," Collin scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Geez, I can't even begin to imagine how tough it has to be for him, deciding whether he wants to wake up on the east coast in the arms of some freakin' red-head, or the west coast with a blond beach bunny."

"Ya really don't know anything about yer father at all, do you?" Bobby pushed up the brim of his ever-present trucker cap, and quirked a puzzled brow. "Yer Mom never told ya anythin' about him? What he is . . . why he can't be around even if he wants to be?"

"She died when I was five," Collin muttered as he strode to the refrigerator, flung open the door and pulled out a beer. Normally, he never would have considered drinking so early in the day, but just the thought of Bobby defending his father's actions had him needing something stronger than a glass of orange juice. Twisting off the cap, he took a long pull on the bottle before he continued, "I had the great fortune of being raise by twenty-seven . . . no wait, twenty-eight delightfully charming nannies." He smirked, recollecting on a few of the nannies who had come and gone as he was a child. "Course, good ol' number twenty-seven did have her moments of amusement. You should've seen the look on her face when I set her hair on fire." He tilted his bottle toward Bobby as his grin widened, and then took another swallow of the amber liquid. "That was freakin' priceless. Then there was number twenty-two . . . or maybe it was twenty-three," he shrugged, "really doesn't matter, but let's jus' say finding a bed full of snakes is a sure way to get rid of an unwanted nanny really quick."

"An' Rowan never came to see ya in all that time?" Bobby stared dumbstruck at Collin, apparently not believing that Rowan wouldn't have visited once in all the time that Collin was growing up.

"The only times he ever came here were when I was away at boarding school." Collin shrugged, trying his damnedest to play it off as if it didn't hurt like hell that his father couldn't stomach the sight of him. "You know what, I really don't care. I've done jus' fine on my own. Didn't need him back then, an' I certainly don't need him barging in here now."

"Well, maybe he thinks it's about time that the two of you met."

"Naw . . . he won't come here even if he does come to town." Collin lowered his head, not wanting Bobby to see how much that one true statement hurt him. "He thinks I don't know it, but he has another place he stays at when he comes here. It's not all that far from here, an' really I'm kinda surprised that he didn't have you go there instead."

With what Bobby had just learned from Collin, he wasn't all that surprised that Rowan hadn't tried to see his son at all. If Collin truly didn't know that his father was a vampire, then Bobby could only begin to imagine how the younger man would react to seeing Rowan for the first time. In an earlier conversation with the younger man, Collin had mentioned that he was twenty-two years old, and Bobby knew for certain there was no way in hell that Rowan could pass for being any older than Dean's age.

In truth, Bobby could understand Rowan's reluctance to meet his son with the knowledge that being a vampire would always keep them separated. No matter how Bobby tried to imagine it, even under the best of circumstances, there would never be a happy family reunion for Collin and his father.

"Rowan is plannin' on comin' here," Bobby finally replied after several very long moments, "he told me to bring Joshua to yer house. So, I'm thinkin' he had to know ya might jus' be here."

"Then get a hold of him an' tell him there's been a change of plans." Collin crossed his arms, clearly determined not to give on the matter. "If it's a matter of money, I'll give ya whatever ya need. I jus' want you and the kid out of here today."

"Don't wanna go," Joshua piped in again, his lower lip puckering over the upper in a pout. "Wanna stay here." With sad puppy-dog eyes, he looked to Collin, silently pleading with him to relent in his decision.

"Sorry, kiddo, that ain't gonna — " A sudden rap on the front door, followed by the doorbell ringing several times, abruptly cut Collin off from finishing what he was going to say. His heart immediately lodged in his throat, terrified that it was his father at the door.

"Da Chipmunk's here," Joshua squealed happily as he leapt off his chair and rushed for the door.

"Jay, get back here," Bobby sprang to his feet to follow, "don't you dare open tha' — "

He never got a chance to finish what he was saying as he entered the livingroom just in time to see Joshua fling open the front door. Joshua took several backward steps and then glanced up at a tall man with wavy brown hair and light sea-green eyes.

"Yer not the Chipmunk," Joshua muttered, clear disappointment in his tone.

"Joshua, you know better than to just open the damn door to strangers," Bobby snapped irritably.

"Joshua . . . ." the man uttered in a breathless whisper. He stood slack-jawed, staring down at Joshua, his gaze never wavering even as Bobby moved to stand behind his young charge. Uncomfortable with such close scrutiny, Joshua backed away, and Bobby placed his arm protectively around him.

"Jamie-O, what are you doin' here so early," came Collin's voice from directly behind Bobby. "Thought we weren't meeting until later?"

"I ummm . . . ." Jamie licked his lips as he dragged his gaze away from Joshua to focus on Collin. "I can't make it today, I've got some things I need to take care of." Once again his gaze strayed to Joshua. Scratching his head, he glanced back over his shoulder as if he were searching for someone, and then looked back to Bobby. "Look, Collin, I really better get goin'," he said in a breathless rush, jerking a thumb toward his motorcycle, "if I had known he was . . . there can't be two . . . I really have to go."

Jamie turned on his heel to make a hasty retreat, but Collin grabbed hold of his arm and swung him back around. "What the hell are you talkin' about?"

"Can't really talk about it." Jamie jerked his arm free from Collin's hold on him. "Ask him," he gestured toward Bobby. "Kinda figured he would've already told ya since he brought Joshua here."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"Knew I shouldn't have gotten on this damn plane with you." Dean growled, eyes widening with fear at not being able to see what was happening around him. The jet teetered from left and right as it began to descend. Dean's hands gripped tighter around the armrests as he pushed himself backward into his seat, bracing for impact.

"Relax, Dean," Rowan chuckled at Dean's obvious panic over the situation, "I'm sure if we were gonna crash, the pilot would have made an announcement by now." He hesitated briefly as he glanced at Dean, noticed the sweat beading on his forehead, and also how he was beginning to tremble with fever again, and couldn't help the deep worried sigh that escaped him. "Course, the front of the plane could've been struck by lightning an' both the pilot and co-pilot might've gotten sucked right out of the damn jet. Think I should go an' check?"

"I really hate you," Dean hissed, "you know that, right?"

"Seriously, Dean, it's just turbulence. We're gonna land, an' everything's gonna be fine."

The words had barely left Rowan's mouth when the captain's voice came over the loud speaker again. "Sorry for the interruption, Mr. Cole, but we are preparing for final descent into the Knoxville McGhee Tyson Airport. Please make sure you are in your seats with seatbelts fastened."

"See, I told you." Rowan cast his most winsome smile in Dean's direction at having been right, but it quickly faded as he realized that Dean couldn't see the gesture. "Everything is fine. We'll land, I'll get us a car, an' if I drive all night, we'll get to my house by morning."

"I already told you tha' once I'm off this freakin' plane, I don't wanna see your face anymore."

"You were actually serious about that?" Rowan arched a brow in amusement. "Cause I just thought that was the blindness talking."

"I meant what I said," Dean replied stoically.

Rowan's frustration over Dean's continual stubbornness now overshadowed his recent humor and worry, and he cursed under his breath. "Do you really expect me to just leave you to fend for yourself when you can't even see where the hell you're going, you freakin' dumb ass? Hate me if you want, but you still aren't gonna get rid of me that easily."

"I can take care of myself, I always have."

"Look, if that's the way you feel, fine. I'll just come along for the ride. An' I swear," Rowan solemnly crossed his heart, "if you go to bump into any walls or trip down some stairs, I won't even try an' stop you, cause I really respect your wishes." He laughed when he saw Dean's scowl deepen. "I'll just be the guy at the top of the stairs laughing his ass off at how utterly clumsy an' stupid you looked as you fell."

"You really would let me freakin' fall on my ass, wouldn't you?" Dean asked, his brows furrowing as he touched the corners of his eyes. A sad frown flitted across his pale features as he lowered his head, and Rowan understood how hard it must be for the younger man to ask for help.

"Course I would, Dean, that's what friends are for, right?" Rowan placed a reassuring hand on Dean's shoulder, in a gesture that was meant to say that he had no intention of letting any harm come to him. "Cause, after all, I'm sure you'd do the same for me if the situations were reversed."

A slight grin worked its way onto Dean's face, but hastily vanished as he doubled over and clutched a hold of his stomach. His breath left him in a heated rush as another wave of pain racked his fevered body. "St-still meant . . . wh-what I said," he uttered between gasps as if the pain was a reminder of how angry he was at Rowan.

Tired of arguing with the younger man, Rowan let out a deep aggravated groan. "Fine, Dean, have it your way. I'll leave your sorry ass at the airport the moment we leave the plane. But seein' as how you can't see, an' don't have a car if you could, I seriously hope you have enough money for cab fare cause I'm not really feelin' in much of a giving mood at the moment."

Dean's mouth dropped open, surprised at the coldness he heard in Rowan's tone. Although he repeatedly insisted that he could make it on his own, the thought of Rowan actually taking him at his word had Dean's stomach churning even more violently. For a moment it was on the tip of his tongue to relent, but snapped his mouth shut as the plane touched ground and rolled down the airstrip, slowly coming to a halt.

The second the plane had stopped moving, Rowan unsnapped his seatbelt, stood and headed toward the doorway. Without so much as a goodbye, he motioned for the two flight attendants to follow, leaving Dean to find his belongings, and make his way off the plane alone.

As Dean groped around the jet's cabin searching for his clothes, hot tears stung at his eyes. Never had he felt as helpless as he did at the moment, and the one person who could have helped him, he'd pushed away in his anger.

"Guhh . . . were the hell are my freakin' clothes," he cursed in utter frustration as he edged his way along the wall of the plane. Hoping that one of the flight attendants could help him find his duffel, Dean tilted his head to the side and listened intently to hear their heartbeats, but could only detect two heartbeats coming from the front of the plane, but he had no intention of asking Bob the co-pilot to help him find his pants. As his knees struck against the corner of one of the couches flanking the cabin wall, he reached up and felt around until he found the overhead storage compartments. Dean searched through every cabinet along the upper wall, and grew increasingly more frustrated by the moment when he couldn't find his duffel.

From behind, he heard two men snickering, and without actually having to see them, Dean knew it was the captain of the plane and Bob his co-pilot. They stopped a few feet away from where Dean was standing, and Dean's skin crawled as he felt the heat of their stares on his backside.

"Can I help ya find somethin', sweetheart," one of the men said in a low sultry drawl, and Dean knew in an instant it was Bob who was speaking.

"Nope, I'm good," Dean muttered without turning around, and instantly regretted it as he heard Bob's draw in a sharp intake of air.

"I'll jus' bet you are." He took a step closer to Dean, stopping just short of being directly behind him. "Seems as if Mr. Cole is finally starting to appreciated the finer things life has to offer."

Dean swung to glare at the man, and let out an abrupt cry of pain as his fangs ripped through his gums. "If you even think to take one step closer, you'll be leavin' this plane on a freakin' stretcher."

Hearing Bob gasp in horror at the sight of his sweat streaked face, glazed over eyes, and sharpened teeth, Dean had to laugh, realizing his threat was completely unnecessary. Bob's heart-rate increased rapidly as the seconds ticked by, the sound of it thrumming loudly in Dean's ears. A sudden surge of undeniable hunger filled Dean, his stomach clenching painfully as he listened to the blood pumping through both mens' veins. Almost unconsciously he ran his tongue along the sharpened edges of his fangs, and was rewarded for his efforts when the salty-sweet taste of blood filled his mouth.

"Think I spoke too quickly when I mentioned the stretcher," Dean murmured as he took a slow deliberate step toward the man, and heard both men shuffle backward away from him. "I probably should've said a body bag."

"Wh-what the hell are you?" Bob cried out as he backed further away toward the exit of the plane, the fear in his tone unmistakable.

"Never thought I'd say this to another man," Dean smirked, "but I'm the guy your father probably warned you about." His head dropped back onto his shoulders as sniffed the air, drinking in their abject fear which only served to further increase his desire for blood. "God, you have no idea how intoxicating the scent of your blood an' fear is." He licked his lips in anticipation of the kill. "It make me realize jus' how damn hungry I really am." Dean uttered as he stalked ever-closer to the two men. A short maniacal laugh issued past his lips as he heard the two men stumbling over themselves to get to the doorway first.

Bob suddenly cried out in pain, and the overpowering scent of blood filled the plane's cabin. Dean's eyes rolled backward, his body trembling as the heady aroma of the man's blood reached his nostrils. Again his head dropped back onto his shoulders as a deep guttural growl burst from his mouth.

Both men pushed their way out of the doorway as Dean continued his deadly pursuit of them. From just outside, he heard Bob utter, "Mr. Cole, don't go back in there . . . tha' guy . . . he's some sort of . . . I don't know what he is, but he's freakin' crazy."

"He's got these teeth . . . fangs," the captain uttered, and Dean could hear Rowan's subtle laughter as both men begged him to stay away. "An' his eyes . . . they were . . . they were all glazed an' glowin'. I've swear I've never seen anything like it before in my entire life."

"Have you two been drinking?" Rowan asked, the condemnation clear in his tone.

"No, we haven't," the captain groused, "I swear he's some sort of freakin' monster."

"I know Dean has a bit of a temper sometimes, but calling him a monster is highly uncalled for." Rowan chuckled as the two men opened their mouths to try an' argue further. "An' sure he's demanding, grouchy, an' pretty much a pain in the ass, but that is my best friend you're talkin' about. So, unless you wanna be lookin' for a new job, I'd suggest you go an' sober up an' rethink what you thought you saw."

"But, Mr. Cole — "

With a quirk of a brow, Rowan quickly cut Bob off. "Seriously, did I actually sound as if I wanted to debate this matter with you? Cause basically I was tellin' you to get the hell off of my jet before I lose my temper an' kick both your asses."

Both men looked as if they wanted to argue some more, but must have realized that Rowan would make good on his threats. Whereas they might not have been overly concerned about him beating them to a pulp, Rowan was certain the thought of losing their jobs would have them doing whatever he asked without question.

"Sorry, sir," the captain mumbled as he skirted past Rowan and headed toward the terminal with Bob following closely behind him.

After they had left, Rowan leaned against the doorframe and watched as Dean tried to rein in his growing hunger. "They've left Cujo, think it's safe to put away your fangs now." He stalked to where Dean was standing, and pushed a pile of clothes into the younger man's hands. Without a word, Dean slipped on his jeans, and then tugged on his t-shirt.

"You know, I could've just left you here to walk through the airport terminal in your boxers." Taking a seat on the couch, Rowan leaned back into the cushions to wait for Dean to say something, but when he failed to speak after several very long moments, Rowan added, "But as you're pretty much broke, I would've ended up paying your fine. Not to mention the fact that you really jus' can't control the verbal spewage that leaks from your mouth whenever someone challenges you." Rowan chuckled when Dean rolled his eyes at him. "You would've ended up in jail where some big guy named Bubba or Roy would've taken one look at you in your boxers, an' you'd become his new girlfriend. Course being the kinda guy I am, I would've eventually felt bad for ya . . . might've taken a week or two, but then I would've come to bail you out. Although by then you could be married to Bubba, an' I just really can't picture you as the marrying type. So I actually came back to save Bubba from heartbreak."

"I – I could've killed them," Dean finally muttered, ignoring Rowan's attempts to skirt the fact that if he hadn't come back when he did, Dean might have murdered the two pilots. "I wanted to kill them." He felt his way over to the couch and dropped down beside Rowan in an utterly defeated manner. Propping his elbows on his knees, Dean rested his face in his hands as tears slipped down his cheeks. "I can't d-do this, Rowan . . . I can't be a vampire. What if I hurt Sammy or Bobby? God, what if I got so damn hungry that I attack Joshua? What happens then . . . ." his voice trailed off as he looked to Rowan for answers.

"Already told you, Dean, I'm not about to let that happen to you or anyone you care about."

"Yeah, I know," Dean said, a slight smile returning to his face.

"Course," Rowan stood to leave, and helped Dean to his feet, "that doesn't mean I'm above letting you walk out of here with your t-shirt inside out and on backwards. Cause you really did piss me off before."

"You really do suck." Dean pulled off his shirt, fixed it and tugged it back in place.

"Yeah, think you've told me that about a million times now." Rowan smirked as Dean headed out of the plane's cabin with his t-shirt now on backwards and inside out. "But I jus' sort of think of it as a term to show your undying gratitude for all that I've done for you."


	6. Chapter 6

well, this was kinda fun to write, even if i do hate to write fight scenes...hope everyone enjoys!! thanks for reading and for all the great reviews!!make sure to check out Gengen0776's story It Only Hurt's to Breathe. thanks again!! bambers;)

_Chapter Six_

"You can't possibly be angry still," Rowan muttered as he chanced a glance in Dean's direction, then returned his attention to the winding mountainous road ahead. "It happened five hours ago, let it go. I mean, I never hold a grudge for that long." He smirked when Dean heaved an aggravated groan. "So you had your shirt on backward and inside out. No big deal, an' you covered really well by saying you were starting a new fashion trend."

"I looked like a complete ass." Shivering despite the heater being on full blast, Dean huddled down deeper in the warm woolen blanket Rowan had bought for him at the airport gift shop. "Like it wasn't bad enough that you let me fall over someone's luggage, but then to have to explain why I prefer wearing my clothes inside out was just the real kicker to an otherwise great day. But payback's a bitch, Rowan, an' I owe you big time."

"Hey, I was just respecting your wishes," Rowan glanced over at Dean with a look of wide-eyed innocence. "After all, you might've purposely fallen over that luggage as some sort of test to see if I was a vamp of my word. An' look, I passed, an' here you probably thought I'd fail. Bet you're feelin' more than a little foolish now, huh?"

Rowan laughed, but it died on his lips as Dean began gasping for breath, his body jerking and convulsing erratically. Eyes rolling backward into his head, Dean coughed hard as blood spilled from his nose and mouth. "Dean!" Rowan swerved to the side of the road and slammed on the brakes. When Dean failed to respond, Rowan flung open the car door and was out of the car in a shot.

Mindless of another driver blaring his horn, Rowan rushed to the passenger's side, and dragged Dean out of the car. The driver of a black Chevy Silverado 4x4 slowed to a halt behind him, and a man wearing a cowboy hat and long black trench coat got out of the truck.

"Looks like ya could use a little help," the man uttered as he spit out a wad of chewing tobacco. He nudged his head toward Dean, and further added, "Yer friend there looks a lil' worse for the wear." As he said this, another man slid out of the passenger's side of the truck, and sidled up alongside the man in the trench coat.

"Naww . . . he's fine. Jus' didn't want him bleedin' all over my new car." Rowan eyed both men as they stalked ever closer, their movements fluid and calculated as if they had years of experience hunting their prey.

"Maybe we should lend a hand, Jake," the second burlier man said to the driver. "After all, what kind of men would we be if we saw someone injured on the side of the road an' jus' drove on by?"

"Oh, I'd have to say you'd probably be the kind of guys who wouldn't get their asses kicked by me for clearly butting in where your help was neither wanted or needed." Rowan's steady gaze never strayed from either man as he knelt and rested Dean up against the bumper of his new forest green Porsche 911 Carrera. "Course since you're both vamps, I'm kinda figurin' you're not gonna be smart enough to get back in your truck an' drive away."

"Huh, what gave us away?" Jake asked, a bemused expression crossing his gaunt, pale features.

"No offense intended, but I'd have to say it's cause you both smell like roadkill." Rowan stood and placed himself protectively in front of Dean. "No wait, you actually smell worse than that. Maybe more like raw sewage . . . nope, I'd have to say worse than that, too." He hesitated for a moment as both vampires bared their fangs, snarling as they continued to advance toward him. "You know, call me crazy but I really like taking showers, maybe you should try it sometime. An' cologne, all the really cool vamps are wearing it now. Personally," he gestured toward himself, "I wear Obsession for Men. Trust me, you should really try it sometime, just one whiff an' it drives the woman crazy."

"R-Rowan," Dean mumbled in a weak low voice, drawing Rowan's attention back to him.

"Yeah, Dean?" he hastily replied, concern clearly evident in his tone. "You okay?"

"J-jus' sh-shut the hell up, an' kick their asses, w-would ya?"

"I was just givin' 'em time to get away while they still had the chance, Dean," Rowan argued, "cause God only knows it's not a fair fight."

"Thought you might say that, Rowan," Jake said, his eyes alighting with derisive pleasure as he hitched a thumb over his shoulder at two approaching vehicles. "So I wanted to make sure you'd feel as if we appreciated your cocksure attitude."

Rowan quickly scanned the two other cars, noted that there were at least three men in each vehicle, and cursed under his breath. There was no doubt in his mind that the vampires had been following them for quite a while, but he'd been so wrapped up in getting Dean to North Carolina to find Jax that he hadn't sensed the danger.

Without taking his sights off of the vampires, Rowan knelt beside Dean again. "Think we might have a slight problem, Dean," he breathed in hushed tone.

"H-how many are th-there?" Dean muttered as he tried to make his way to his feet, but Rowan placed a firm hand on his shoulder to keep him down.

"About eight of 'em," Rowan uttered, and cursed again when the car that had passed them by when they had stopped pulled up in front of them, blocking any means of escape. "Make that ten."

"Lemme up, R-Rowan, you need my h-help." Once more Dean tried to make his way to his feet, but didn't quite have the strength to manage it, and fell back against the bumper of the car. "Jus' help me to m-my feet, ya c-can't take them alone."

"Think I prefer you sittin' right here, Dean," Rowan said with a curt shake of his head, "cause if I'm gonna get my ass kicked, I'd rather not have it be because I was too distracted makin' sure you're still alive. An' I'd kinda like to think I could take them anyway. I do have my pride after all."

"But I can h-help ya," Dean weakly argued as he swiped away the blood dripping from his nose and mouth. "Ya c-can't take ten vamps on by yerself."

"You're blind," Rowan replied with a heavy sigh, "an' if I'm not mistaken, you tripped over luggage . . . sorry to say, Dean, but I highly doubt you'll be much of a help. So I'm beggin' ya to jus' stay here an' let me handle this."

As Rowan rose to stand the other vampires slid out of their vehicles and methodically began to circle around him. Unwilling to risk any of them getting to Dean, Rowan strategically placed himself between the vampires and his young friend.

"Lucifer just wants him, Rowan," Jake jeered as he pointed to Dean, "seems as if he's just a little pissed that your boy there bit him. So why don't cha jus' let us take him, an' we'll let ya go?"

"Afraid I can't let you do that." Rowan clenched his fists, waiting for some sign of attack. "But if it's any consolation to Lucifer, tell him that Dean thinks his blood tastes like crap, an' definitely won't be coming back for seconds."

"Think you can tell him that yourself as he's on his way here right now." Jake smirked as he took a step toward Rowan. "Course there won't be much left of you by the time he does get here."

"Pretty much figured he was, what with the strange electrical storm forcing our plane to land in Tennessee," Rowan uttered, ignoring Jake's threat. "But I'm gonna freakin' kill you all an' be long gone before he gets here, so I'm not really worried about it."

At the sound of a subtle movement coming from directly behind him, Rowan turned his head to see Dean slowly making his way to an upright position. "Damn it, Dean, I — "

Before Rowan had a chance to finish what he was saying, someone slammed a beefy fist into the side of his face, followed quickly by several jabs to his ribcage and stomach. Not giving him a moment to recover, the vampires slammed fist after fist into his face and body, clawing and tearing away at his skin. Rowan dropped to his knees as they piled on top of him, each vampire vying for a shot to his body or a bite of his flesh.

Dean pushed away from the car, and staggered toward the sound of the vampires fighting. A low growl issued past his lips as his fangs descended, but no one seemed to take notice as they pummeled Rowan. The scent of Rowan's blood filled the air as he cried out over and over again, alerting Dean that his friend was in serious trouble. With his last stores of strength, Dean clawed his way through the pile of vampires until he reached Rowan, and yanked him upward and away from his adversaries.

"D-Dea . . . told ya — " again whatever Rowan was going to say was cut short as a dark-haired vampire smashed a fist into his face, blood oozing from his split lip.

"Not gonna j-jus' stand by and let them tear you apart, Rowan," Dean snapped as he gripped hold of the vampire's arm, swung him around and slammed a fist into the larger man's stomach.

"Jus' lullin' 'em into a false s-sense of s-security." Rowan tried to grin but it came out looking more like a pain-filled grimace. "An' now I g-gotta 'em right where I wan' 'em."

"So, bleedin' all over them was part of yer plan?" Dean grabbed Rowan's arm and pulled him backward toward the car.

"Naww . . . tha' was a slight glitch in an otherwise brilliant plan."

"Brilliant, huh? I made better plans when I was seven." Dean reared up against the bumper of the Porsche, lost his footing and dragged Rowan down to the ground along with him as he fell.

"Yeah, I can see where this is much better, D-Dean," Rowan mumbled as all the vampires converged on them. "You know they're gonna ruin my new car, right?" He tilted his head to the side to grin at Dean. "An' I really love this car, too," he added as one of the vampires leapt onto the hood of the vehicle.

"You know, you two talk way too much for vamps who are gettin' their asses stomped. It's really rather annoying." Jake knelt beside Rowan, grabbed hold of his chin, and forced him to look him squarely in the eye. Two vampires pinned Rowan's arms out to the side as two others took a firm hold of Dean. Jake yanked a knife out of his jacket pocket, flipped it open, and pressed the blade against Rowan's lower lip. "Maybe I should just cut out your tongues so you'll shut the hell up."

"Pretty sure it'll grow back by tomorrow, so give it your best shot," Rowan murmured, careful to move his lips as little as possible as he spoke.

"Umm . . . I'd like to keep my tongue where it is," Dean interjected, "but I wholeheartedly agree that Rowan talks way too much, so cut away."

"Thanks, Dean, glad to know you got my back," Rowan smirked as he felt Dean reach into his jacket pocket and pull out his .45.

"Hey, I don't know if mine will grow back overnight, an' you do talk too much. So I figure they're doin' me a favor by cuttin' it out. Maybe I can get some sleep tonight."

"God, just shut the hell up, would ya," The burly vampire holding onto Dean uttered as he cocked back a fist to punch Dean in the face.

Just as he was about to land the blow, Dean broke free of the other vampire's grasp, aimed and fired his weapon, hitting his attacker dead-center in the throat. Hearing the gunshot, Rowan drew back his arm and elbowed Jake in the stomach. The knife in the vampire's hand sliced deeply across Rowan's lips and cheek as Jake fell backward to the ground.

"Sonuvabitch," Rowan growled as he quickly covered the jagged gash with his hand, trying to staunch the flow of blood. His full anger now ignited, Rowan leapt to his feet, dragged Jake off the ground and slammed fist after fist into his face. Jake's head snapped back and forth with the force of the blows as Rowan continued to pulverize the man's face. "No one ever messes with my face," Rowan hissed as he gripped hold of the sides of the Jake's head, twisted it viciously to the side and then ripped it clear from his body.

As Rowan threw Jake's head to the ground, another vampire sucker punched him in the kidneys. His breath caught in his throat as his back arched forward. Another shot to same spot had him doubling over, a cry of pain bursting from his swollen, bloodied lips. Struggling to catch his breath, Rowan staggered forward and another vampire caught a hold of him. Gripping onto Rowan's shoulders, the vampire pushed him downward as he drew up his knee and smashed it into Rowan's stomach.

Not giving him a moment to catch his breath, the dark-haired vampire kicked Rowan in the stomach again, sending him sprawling to the ground. "Your face ain't gonna look so pretty anymore," he snarled as he raised a foot and stomped down hard on the side of Rowan's face. White hot sparks filled Rowan's vision as his mind clouded over. Vaguely he felt more vampires attacking him as he drifted toward unconsciousness, but didn't have the strength or the will to fight back.

"Rowan!" Dean shouted, and Rowan latched onto the sound of his voice as if it were his only lifeline. "Damn it, get back on your feet an' fight. Can't do this on my own so you better get your ass up now."

"J-jus restin' fer a . . . a m-minute . . . Dea . . . ." Rowan's voice trailed off as he struggled to find his way back to semi-consciousness. "Figured I-I'd g-give 'em a lil' break from p-pounding the h-hell outta me."

"Well, ya jus' about done?" Dean was quick to respond, instinctively knowing that his friend needed to hear him speak to rally himself enough to fight onward. "Cause it kinda feels like I'm doin' all the work here while you're jus' gettin' your ass kicked."

"W-wouldn't call f-fallin' over them, fightin', Dean," Rowan muttered as he slowly pushed himself upward into a sitting position. "An' the th-three of you I can see," he gestured to three different spots where he thought Dean might have been standing, "are clearly h-hittin' air. So I'm th-thinkin' I b-better not pass out jus' yet."

"Good thinkin'," Dean encouraged, "now get the hell up before I hit you myself."

"Thanks fer the conce — " Rowan never had the chance to finish what he was saying as several vampires hauled him to his feet and once again began punching and kicking his already badly bruised and battered body.

"Enough," came a cold deep voice, cutting through the Rowan's cries of pain, and Dean's attempts to keep his friend on his feet. "Let them go. Now."

Rowan glanced up through blurred vision, and although it hurt to do so, smiled when he saw Archangel Michael standing there in all his heavenly glory. Full white wings spread ominously as he stalked ever closer to the vampires, Michael flung his arms open, and the vampires flew backward away from Dean and Rowan. Michael tilted his head to the side, and with a single glance one of the vampires burst into flames. The burning vampire's cries died on his lips as he quickly disintegrated to dust and ash before their eyes. Then one by one, Michael destroyed each and every vampire from where they stood, leaving nothing behind but their ashes.

"Although I once told you to stay away from Dean, Rowan, you failed to listen to me." Michael strode forward, knelt beside Rowan, and gently lift his chin so they were looking each other in the eye. "But maybe I was wrong, an' your courage this day has not gone unnoticed."


	7. Chapter 7

thanks so much for continuing to read the angels and demon series!! hope everyone is still enjoying it!! thanks for all the really great reviews!! make sure to check out Gengen0776's story It Only Hurt's to Breathe. thanks again!! bambers;)

_Chapter Seven_

"Wha' da ya th-think he meant, Dean?" Rowan weakly mumbled as Dean hooked an arm around the vampire's waist and helped him out of the car. "I'sss . . .gotta be g-good tha' he n-noticed."

Rowan leaned heavily against Dean nearly causing them both to stumble, but somehow Dean managed to keep them upright. His head lolled to the side to rest on Dean's shoulder as he drew in a staggered breath. "Maybe th-there's hope fer me after all."

"I dunno, Rowan," Dean reluctantly responded, not wanting to get his friend's hopes raised by Michael's cryptic remark. The archangel hadn't elaborated any further as to his meaning when he had said that Rowan's courage had not gone unnoticed, but Dean highly doubted that it had meant that Rowan had been forgiven for his sins. From what Dean had learned of Michael, it was going to take a helluva lot more for him to even consider that Rowan had changed his ways. Yet he didn't have the heart to tell the condemned man his thoughts on the matter. "Think we should jus' concentrate on gettin' you inside the motel before we both pass out cold."

"Is tha' yer w-way of s-sayin' I ain't gotta chance in h-hell of bein' fergiven?" Rowan's head dropped back on his shoulders, and he glanced up at Dean through partially closed eyelids. His eyes fluttered open and closed as he tried to grin, but couldn't quite manage it. "Cause I already know tha', but I jus' w-wanted ya ta l-lie fer m-my sake . . . jus' fer a lil' while . . . ya know."

"You gonna be okay?" Dean asked, ignoring Rowan's comment and the sadness in his tone. Although Dean couldn't see how badly Rowan was injured, the scent of the vampire's blood was nearly overwhelming, so he could only assume that his friend had been beaten pretty severely by the other vampires. "I mean, you really don't sound good at all, an' yer bleedin' quite a bit."

"S'tha' concern I hear in yer voi-ce," Rowan's voice hitched in his throat as he tried to draw in a breath. Coughing hard, the vampire dropped to his knees as blood spilled from his mouth to drip down his chin and cover his shirt. "Th-think I'm n-not doin' so — " the words abruptly died on Rowan's lips as he fell face first to the ground.

"Rowan!" Dean hastily knelt beside his fallen friend. "Come on, dude, wake up for me." He gently shook Rowan's shoulder, but instantly pulled back when he felt how wet with blood Rowan's shirt was, and feared the worst. Closing his eyes, Dean listened hard, trying to detect a heartbeat coming from the vampire, but couldn't find one. "No. No. No. No. No. You can't do this to me now. You gotta wake the hell up." He shook Rowan more fiercely as Michael's words came back to haunt him. "No, you can't be dead," Dean adamantly declared as he stood and dragged Rowan to his feet. "Jus' need ta get ya inside, an' you'll be fine by mornin'."

Pushing himself beyond his own endurance, Dean somehow managed to get Rowan inside the motel room, and carefully placed him on the bed closest to the doorway. With a deep weary sigh, he slumped down onto the mattress beside his fallen friend, and gently placed two fingers to the side of the vampire's neck, trying to feel for a pulse, but found none.

"You can't be dead." Dean gave a curt shake of his head, determined to believe that Rowan would wake up once his body had regenerated itself. "Michael wouldn't do this to me . . . not now, not while I'm . . . ." his voice trailed off, not wanting to admit to himself that he was blind and too sick to take care of Joshua on his own.

Loathsome dread welled inside his heart as he lightly traced his fingertips across Rowan's face, and felt the deep, jagged gash that was still seeping with blood. Dean touched the cuts and bruises on his own face, and noticed how they were all almost completely healed. "You shouldn't still be bleedin', Rowan," he breathed, panic edging his tone. "Why the hell are you still bleedin'?"

With his heart in his throat, Dean gently pried Rowan's lips apart, and lightly pressed down against his gums, expecting to feel the vampire's fangs descend, but cursed under his breath when he felt nothing but his friend's normal teeth. "No, this can't be happening . . .you're a freakin' vampire . . . where the hell are your damn fangs?"

Dean slowly rose to stand, and carefully made his way across the room. With his hands stretched out in front of himself, he felt around until he found the wall, and followed it until he came to the doorway to the bathroom. Once inside, he groped around on the vanity until his hand landed on a small pile of towels, and wetting them, he headed back toward his friend. He took a seat beside Rowan, and carefully tugged the vampire's shirt off so he could clean out his wounds.

A broken sob caught on Dean's lips as he realized how much Rowan had endured to protect him from the other vampires. Nearly every inch of his chest and stomach was covered with raised welts, cuts and bite marks. A jagged piece of bone protruded from the left side of his chest, and it tore at Dean's heart to know that they had stomped so hard on Rowan's chest that one of his ribs had broken and ripped through his flesh.

With extra care, Dean lightly brushed a clean, damp cloth across Rowan's cheek and dabbed at corner of the vampire's swollen lower lip. "Come on, Rowan," Dean uttered, his voice close to pleading, "you gotta wake up for me." A lone tear trailed down Dean's cheek as Rowan remained unmoving. "Don't you dare do this to me . . . not now. You were supposed ta wait . . . I was gonna give ya the amulet when my six months were over . . . an' you were supposed ta wait till then."

"No," Dean uttered with a firm shake of his head, "I'm not gonna let you die on me now. Not now." With fierce determination alighting his features, Dean yanked out the knife he'd kept concealed in his boot, and cut deeply into the veins on his wrist. Blood spurted from the wound to drip down his fingertips as he took hold of Rowan's arm and made a similar cut on the vampire's wrist. Pressing their bloodied wounds together, Dean waited for some indication that Rowan would be all right.

As the minutes stretched outward to a half an hour and then an hour with still no response from Rowan, Dean grew increasingly desperate. Baring his fangs, Dean lifted Rowan's lifeless body upward, and after the slightest hesitation, he sunk his teeth into the side of vampire's throat, biting deeply into Rowan's carotid artery. A sick, gut wrenching feeling swept through Dean as he tried in vain to drink in some of Rowan's blood, but there was none to be found.

"What are you doing, Dean?" came a voice from directly behind Dean, and he instantly recognized it as Michael's. "Just for once, let the dead be at rest."

"Why now?" Dean swung to glare at the angel, and was forced to lower his head as a halo of intense light broke through his blindness and burned his eyes. "Two thousand freakin' years, an' you chose this moment to forgive him?"

"It wasn' up to me to forgive him for anything, Dean." Michael moved to stand beside Dean, and then knelt at his feet. "You should be happy that he is at peace, but instead you're pathetically trying to bring him back to life. You really haven't learned anything in your time apart from Sam, have you?"

"Not true." Dean's brows furrowed into a scowl as he once again chanced a glance at Michael, this time without consequence. "I've learned that angels can be just as cruel as demons, if not more so."

"Really? Was it so cruel to give Rowan what he has wanted and begged for almost his entire life?" Michael placed a hand on Dean's shoulder as he looked to Rowan laying peacefully on the bed beside the younger man. "I would think that you would be happy for him."

"S-so he's really dead?" Dean managed to choke out in a hushed whisper. "He's not coming back?"

"What I'm trying to tell you is that you can't control what happens in other people's lives, Dean."

Michael lightly rested his fingers on Dean's face and then trailed his fingertips upward touch his eyelids. White-hot light emanated from his hand as he softly muttered words that Dean could not fathom. A scream ripped from Dean's lips as stark, searing pain exploded from behind his closed eyelids, but just as quickly as the pain came on it faded away, leaving Dean more than a little shaken. "Open your eyes, Dean."

Dean blinked hard as everything slowly came into focus. "I-I can see," he muttered as he touched the corners of his eyes.

"For now," came Michael's subtle reply as he nudged his head toward Rowan. "I want you to look at him and tell me if he looks like he really wants to come back or if he looks at peace."

Dean shifted to look down at his friend, and a sad smile flitted across his features as he noticed how serene Rowan appeared in death. Although his face was badly beaten and bruised, he no longer looked as if carried the weight of world on his shoulders. "I'd say he looks at peace."

"I imagine Sam looked much the same way when he died as well. Death is not a punishment, Dean, and it's certainly not something you should trade away your soul for."

"It wasn't Sam's time to die," Dean argued, anger welling within him that Michael had turned Rowan's death into some sort of hard learned lesson for him.

"Some would argue that it wasn't your time to die either, an' I can only imagine that Sam would agree with that."

"I'm payin' the price for that, an' really don't need ya to remind me again." Dean slowly made his way to his feet and began to pace the expanse of the room. As he rounded a turn in his steps, his gaze once again fell to Rowan, and his vision blurred as tears welled in his eyes. "Where should I bury him?" he asked, shoulders sagging in a defeated manner.

"What, you're not gonna salt an' burn his bones just in case?" Michael asked as if that should have been the obvious choice.

"Naw, I figure if he's at peace he deserves a proper burial. Think he'd kinda like that, an' seein' as he was my best friend, I wanna do what's right by him."

"There's a cemetery not far from here." Michael stood, walked to Dean, and lightly placed a hand on his shoulder in a comforting manner. "Since I doubt you'll have the strength to dig out a plot for him, I'll make sure there's one prepared for him."

His hand fell away from Dean's shoulder to rest at his side as he strode back to where Rowan was, and knelt beside him. With hands clasped together, he lowered his head and softly murmured a prayer for the fallen vampire. When he was finished, he lightly traced a cross over Rowan as he uttered, "Requiescat in pace, Judas Iscariot."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

After what seemed the longest time of waiting and watching to see if Rowan would recover from his injuries and regain consciousness, Dean finally realized he had no option left but to bury his friend as morning fast approached. With extreme care, Dean covered Rowan's body with a blanket, and then carefully lowered him into the open grave he found at the far back corner of the cemetery. When he was finished, he knelt beside Rowan's grave, deciding what he wanted to say to his friend.

"You know," Dean uttered in a low voice, then hesitated and glanced around as a sudden sense of deep foreboding nearly overwhelmed him. _How am I supposed to do this alone, Rowan? You said you would be there to make sure I didn't hurt anyone, an' now you're gone. _Running his index finger along his gumline, Dean felt his fangs prick through his flesh, and cursed under his breath. _What if I get so damn hungry, I kill Bobby or Joshua?_

Dean consciously pushed his growing apprehension aside, and concentrated on his friend. Rowan had been there for him when there was no one else he could turn to, so how could he not be happy that the vampire had finally found redemption. So clearing his throat, Dean began again, "When I first met you . . . well, I was trying to kill you." Dean let out a wry chuckle, thinking that Rowan might have found that sentiment rather amusing. "But I think it was the next time we met that you said you thought we would become great friends . . . I jus' remember thinkin' how much you annoyed the hell out of me."

Dean raked his hand through his mohawk, and then shook his head as a bemused grin crossed his features. "Because of you, I now have a mohawk . . . not to mention you had that guy pierce my ear." His fingers trailed downward to toy with the studded earring in his ear. "An' I know Sam is gonna laugh his ass off if he ever finds out that I've been wearin' eyeliner . . . an' since you're not around to hear this, I'm actually gonna admit that I kinda like how it looks." Another chuckle slipped past Dean's lips as he imagined the look on the vampire's face if he'd ever heard Dean admit to liking how his own eyes looked rimmed in eyeliner, and was almost grateful that Rowan would never know that or he would never hear the end of it.

His mind wandered back to the day at the church when Joshua had died, and he faced going to the crossroads alone. But then, as always, Rowan had showed up, and said he would stay with him for as long as it took to find a way to get him out of Hell. There was no doubt in Dean's mind that his friend would have gone to any lengths to save him, and that thought alone had the tears brimming in his eyes. "When Joshua died because I hadn't been taking care of him like I was suppose to, you were there for me. An' you'll never know how much it meant to me that you said you would stay with me when I went to the crossroads."

Scrubbing a hand across his face, Dean bit pensively at his lower lip as he recalled all their meaningless fights and arguments. "I honestly have to say, even if it annoyed the hell out of me a lot of the time, you probably had the best sense of humor I've ever come across. An' I'm gonna miss that more than you can know." Dean brushed aside the tears slipping down his cheeks as he drew in a deep breath and slowly released it. "I never wanted to be friends with you, Rowan. Everything you were was everything I was raised to hate. So it's kinda hard to believe even now that in the short amount of time that I knew you, you became one of the best friends I've ever had."

Dean choked on a sob, tears blurring his vision as he stood and shoveled a pile of dirt over Rowan's body. "I'll never forget you or all you did for me. An' I jus' wanted to say thanks for everything. Requiescat in pace, Rowan."

"That was just really touching an' heartfelt," came a voice from directly behind Dean. "I almost cried, I really did." Dean swung to find a man who was probably about an inch or two shorter than Sam standing only a few feet away from him. A whimsical smile played across the man's face as he quirked a brow and gestured toward the grave. "But if you're just about finished there, we really need to get the hell outta here before Lucifer shows up, an' puts a damper on this lovely little ceremony you got goin' on."

"Who the hell are you?" Dean took a backward step, his hand tightening around the handle of the shovel, ready to use it as a weapon if the need arose.

"The name's Jason, but everyone usually just calls me JD. The choice is yours, but just to warn ya, I never respond to Jason," he said with a shrug. "An' you're the infamous Dean Winchester. Now if we're done with the introductions, can we go?"

"I'm not goin' anywhere with you."

"Umm . . . yeah, you are." Jason took a step toward Dean, but stopped abruptly as Dean raised the shovel and pointed the tip of it toward the man's face. "Look, I know you don't know me for shit, but Michael sent me to get you. Course I think he didn't realize you were gonna spend the whole night here, pining over your long lost friend. Me, on the other hand," he gestured toward himself, "I say, he was a vampire, he's dead, time to move on."

"You don't know anything about Rowan, so you can just shut your freakin' mouth before I shut it for you," Dean warned, his tone turning deadly as he glared at Jason.

"Sure I do," Jason smoothly countered, "Rowan St. Christen, vampire. He had more money than any one person ever had the right to have. He had one son, Collin, who he'd never seen as far as I can tell. He played one side against the other, an' finally got caught in the middle. Now he's dead. End of story."

"He wasn't just a vampire," Dean hastily defended Rowan, not liking how Jason spoke of him in such a callous nature. "He was my friend, an' a better person than most I know."

"Then you must not have known him very well," Jason quipped with a cocky grin. "He played people to get what he wanted, Dean, an' I'm sure he was workin' you as well."

"That's not true."

"Sure it is," Jason hitched a thumb over his shoulder to where his car was parked, "now if you're just about done here, can we get the hell out of here before I just leave ya to fend for yourself?"

"You can leave anytime you're ready, I never asked you to come here in the first place."

"Alrighty then, have it your way, but I think it's only fair to warn you that Michael said that when he fixed your eyesight, it was only a temporary thing. So I wouldn't be driving very far if I were you."

"Sonuvabitch," Dean swore under his breath as he touched the corners of his eyes, and then looked to Jason. "Help me finish burying him, an' then I'll go with you," he reluctantly conceded.

"You want me to actually help you bury a vamp," Jason scoffed as he leaned back against a gravestone and crossed his arms. "Not gonna happen. I'm on vacation, an' the only reason I'm here is cause I really don't feel like havin' my ass kicked by Michael. So you want him buried, guess your gonna have to do it yourself."

Dean thought to argue that they would get on the road a lot faster if Jason lent a hand, but thought better of it. From their brief conversation, Dean had already determined that he wasn't going to like Jason or his attitude. However, Michael had left him no choice in the matter but to go along with the fellow hunter, so with that thought in mind, Dean began shoveling dirt over Rowan's body.

"Why are you even bothering, Dean?" Jason question after several minutes had past. "Just leave him like he is. He's already on his one-way trip to Hell as we speak, so burying him is just a formality."

Dean stopped shoveling, and wiped the sweat from his brow. "No, Michael said his courage hadn't gone unnoticed."

"So, maybe it earned him death, but certainly not his redemption."

"You don't know that," Dean argued, although now he had a nagging feeling in the pit of his stomach that Jason was right.

"You really think he would be forgiven just cause he got the life beaten out of him?"

Dean thought back to what Michael had said to Rowan after they had been attacked by the vampires on the side of the road, and couldn't deny that Michael had never once said that Rowan had been forgiven for his sins. His heart sank a little further when he realized that now dead, all hope for redemption would be lost to his friend. Without saying another word, he threw down the shovel, and trudged past Jason, heading for the car.


	8. Chapter 8

thanks so much for continuing to read the angels and demon series!! hope everyone is still enjoying it!! thanks for all the really great reviews!! make sure to check out Gengen0776's story It Only Hurt's to Breathe. thanks again!! bambers;)

_Chapter Eight_

From all around him, Rowan could hear Dean's voice echoing onward into infinity, but yet as hard as he tried, he couldn't find the younger vampire. Several times he tried to call out to his friend, but every time his voice seemed to fail him, silent screams lost to the utter darkness that surrounded him.

Although he could see no one, Rowan felt feather-soft fingertips trail a path down his bruised and battered cheek, and knew that wherever he was, he was not alone. Sudden revulsion filled him as the fingers slid down past his throat to rest lightly on the raised scar directly above his heart. Painful memories flooded his mind. Memories he had thought he had buried long ago, and were best forgotten.

_XxXxXxXxXxXxX_

_"Don't make me to do this, Rowan," Michael Dean begged as Rowan handed him the Colt._

_Sensing that Michael Dean was about to go back on his word, Rowan took hold of the younger man's arm, and raised it so the gun was aimed directly at his heart. "You promised me, Michael Dean . . . an' I'm sorry, but I jus' can't let you go back on your word."_

_"But you're not evil," Michael Dean tried to reason just as Rowan had known his friend would when the time had come to fulfill his promise. "You've protected me an' my brother more times than I can even say . . . Sammy would be dead right now if it hadn't been for you . . . so please, don't ask me to do this cause I jus' can't."_

_"I'm askin' you cause you are the only friend I've ever had. Please, Michael Dean . . . I'm so damn tired . . . I jus' wanna die, an' the Colt is the only way."_

_"It's murder, Rowan . . . no matter how I look at it, an' I jus' don't think I can." Michael Dean's expressive hazel eyes pleaded with Rowan to understand, but Rowan had waited for far too long to be set free from his curse, and wasn't planning on taking no for an answer._

_"Kill me now_ _or I swear to God, I will kill both you an' your brother_ _before the night's over . . . or better still, I'll turn you both into vamps."_

_"Y-you wouldn't dare." _

_"I'll do whatever it takes to make sure you kill me," Rowan calmly replied, green eyes gleaming as his fangs bit through his gumline. He licked the blood from his lips before further adding, "I'll turn your brother first as I force you to watch . . . then I'll turn you."_

_XxXxXxXxXxXxX_

"He was your best friend, Rowan," a strangely familiar voice echoed from what seemed like everywhere all that once, condemning him for what he had done. "You would make him a murderer just so you could get what you wanted. Your soul is mine by right, an' I will not give it away so freely."

"Lucifer." The moment the name slipped past Rowan's lips in a hoarse, raspy whisper, an explosion of fiery light circled a path around him.

From above, a halo of pure golden light washed down over him. From below, a fiery pit blackened with the souls of those who had gone to Hell awaited him. He stood upon a pedestal, it's circular base no wider than two feet in diameter. The pedestal swayed precariously as Rowan made the slightest movement, tilting from the left to the right as he fought to regain his balance.

"Where the hell am I?"

"You are everywhere . . . an' nowhere," Lucifer responded as he appeared behind Rowan. His hands gripped around Rowan's biceps as he leaned in to whisper, "On the very edge of death awaiting final judgment."

"B-but, I can't die." Rowan glanced over the side of the rocky pedestal, and felt the fiery heat from below scorch the skin on his face. A shiver of fear worked its way down his spine as he heard the endless wailing of the damned. A sigh of relief escaped Rowan as Lucifer pulled him backward and tightened his grip around Rowan's arms.

"What He giveth, He most certainly can taketh away, Rowan." Lucifer chuckled. "But just because he freed you from life, doesn't mean that you are freed in death."

"If I'm going to Hell, then why am I here?" Rowan uttered bitterly as he closed his eyes against the sight of what awaited him below.

"A simple formality, I assure you," Lucifer explained as he gestured toward the halo of light coming from above. "An account of your miserable existence must be given before Him. I argued the need, but I was overruled." A mirthless laugh erupted from Lucifer his lips as he raised his hands toward the heavens. Lucifer pressed his hand firmly against Rowan's shoulders, forcing him to drop to his knees.

"Jus' get this over with," Rowan muttered, lowering his head as he felt Lucifer move away from him.

"Your wish is my command, Rowan." Lucifer stretched out his hand and a black leather whip laced with shards of glass and bone appeared in his grasp. He knelt on his haunches and fanned his obsidian wings around Rowan's back in what might have been considered a loving embrace if it had not come from a demon. Coal black eyes stared into Rowan's for a moment and then Lucifer eyed the whip in his hand. Lucifer leaned in, and brushed his face lightly against Rowan's as he murmured, "I've been waiting a long time for this day to come . . . far too long, an' I'm gonna enjoy every damn moment of it."

Stomach churning with abject fear, Rowan pressed his eyes closed against the sight of the whip in the demon's hand. "I know you are," Rowan breathed, tears slipping down his cheeks to evaporate in the scorching heat rising from the bowels of Hell. A broken sob caught on his cracked and bleeding lips as he lowered himself even closer to the ground, resting his stomach against folded knees.

Lucifer rose to tower over Rowan, his gloriously dark wings fanning outward as he raised the whip and wielded it with deadly precision. The thick leather cording encrusted with glass and bone sliced through the heated air and cracked hard against Rowan's back, cutting though his flesh with the slightest of ease.

A cry tore from Rowan's mouth as he jerked forward from the force of the blow. Not given a chance to recover, Lucifer struck Rowan's back again with another vicious crack of the whip. The pedestal Rowan was perched upon swayed precariously beneath him, and it took every bit of sheer concerted effort he possessed to keep from slipping off of the smooth surface. The sickening scent of blood filled the steamy air as the demon wielded the whip over and over again, leaving cris-crossing trails of bloody devastation across Rowan's back.

"D-Dean . . . h-help me," Rowan cried out, willing his best friend to hear him, and somehow save him from the excruciating torture he was forced to endure at the hand of Lucifer.

"Sorry, he can't hear you." Lucifer smirked as he lashed out at Rowan once more, the whip slicing through the small of Rowan's back. "But I can make this all go away if you swear to serve only me. I can give you back your life . . . your son." Lucifer hesitated, allowing Rowan to consider his offer before continuing, "All I ask for in return is that you give me Joshua and the amulet."

"An whad'll h-happen t-to D-Dean?" Rowan said as he chanced a glance toward the heavens, praying for all he was worth that God would witness his suffering, and Rowan would find some sort of redemption. But as the moments ticked cruelly by, he sadly realized no forgiveness would be forthcoming.

"He will be mine, jus' like he was always meant to be," Lucifer calmly replied, "but you will be freed from Hell to go on living your miserable life. It's a good deal, Rowan, one I suggest you take."

"N-no, I – I w-won't do it," Rowan uttered between gasping breaths.

"Wrong answer." The whip hissed through the air again, cracking hard against Rowan's battered back, and slicing a scorching trail across his biceps. "If you think this is the worst I can do to you, Rowan, I seriously suggest you reconsider that notion."

"Do y-your w-worst, you sonuvabitch." Rowan pressed his hands against the ground, and pushed himself into a kneeling position, then using every ounce of strength he possessed, he dragged himself to his feet. If he was going to burn away in Hell, he was going to do it on his own terms. Squaring his shoulders, Rowan carefully shifted to face Lucifer, and lifted his head, standing proudly before the demon. "You c-can't stop Dean . . . h-he doesn't know h-how to quit. He never did."

"Maybe you're right about him." The demon arched a delicate brow as he seemed to consider what Rowan had said, then a smirking grin slid across his features. "But you're not Dean . . . and you have a son. What would you do to save your precious son from falling into my hands, Rowan?"

Rowan's bravado faltered at the thought of what Lucifer could do to his only child. "Leave m-my s-son out of this, you freakin' bastard," he hissed through clenched teeth.

"Believe me, Rowan, it gives me no great pleasure to have to resort to playing these silly little games with you. But, if forced . . . I will take your son's soul from him." Rowan let out a low animalistic growl as Lucifer pressed his hand into the open wounds littering his back. Pressing his eyes closed, Rowan fought the overwhelming nausea that rose from the pit of his stomach, and quickly covered a hand over his mouth before he threw up. "It's not a hard choice . . . Dean's eternal soul for your son's. Give me what I want, Rowan," Lucifer's tone turned coaxing as he eyed Rowan. "If it were the other way around, Dean would give you up in a heartbeat to save Sam from Hell."

Rowan swallowed hard at the harsh truth of Lucifer's words. Dean's one weakness had always been Sam, and if it came right down to it, Rowan was almost certain Dean would do whatever it took to save Sam, even if it meant betraying Rowan. Yet, no matter how he looked at it, Rowan knew in his heart that he could never betray Dean. If he did, it would be just like reliving the past all over again, only this time instead of selling his soul for silver, he would be selling it for his son's life.

"No," he said in a clear, strong voice, and felt a strange sense of peace wash over him as he spoke that one single word. "I have to believe that God will protect my son from you or I've learned nothing from everything I've suffered along the way."

"Is that your final answer?" Lucifer smirked as he clutched hold of Rowan's neck, hefted him off the ground, and held him aloft over the fiery abyss below. "I'm giving you one more chance to save yourself . . . to save your son. Don't be stupid, Rowan, no one's gonna save your son from me. He'll die in the worst possible way . . . it'll be slow an' excruciatingly painful, an' I'll make certain that he knows that he's dying because you refused to saved him."

Lifting his glistening gaze toward the heavens, Rowan prayed, "Heavenly Father, protect my only son." Tears slipped down his cheeks as he mourned the loss of the child he had never gotten to know, and sadly realized he would never even get the chance to meet Colin face to face. "An' know that within my heart, I did not betray you this time . . . not even for a moment. Watch over Dean as he protects those who cannot protect themselves. Although he is strong in heart, he needs your help to guide him to do what is right." A wry chuckle caught in his throat as he thought of Dean, and knew he had made the right decision. "He can be the best damn Guardian Joshua ever had. I'm sure of it."

"Are you just about finished?" Lucifer quirked a brow as he peered over the ledge and loosened his grip from around Rowan's neck.

"Jus' about." Rowan smirked, now ready to face whatever hellish torment Lucifer had in store for him. "In nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti."

As Rowan slipped from between Lucifer's fingers to free fall into the fiery depths of Hell, a cocksure grin slipped across his battered features. Although he knew he hadn't been forgiven for his sins, he couldn't help but feel that he was finally free at long last. "See you in Hell, you sonuvabitch. I'll be the one roasting marshmallows an' hangin' with the hot demon chicks."


	9. Chapter 9

so fairly long chappy to make up for the long wait...hope everyone enjoys!! thanks for reading and for the awesome reviews!! bambers;)

_Chapter Nine_

Dean sank further into the passenger's seat of Jason's car as he mulled over Rowan's death. He hated the idea of leaving the vampire only partially buried, but reluctantly he was forced to admit that he really didn't have the strength to finish the job. Even now it seemed as if every muscle in his entire body spasmed at the slightest movement, and his fever had returned with a vengeance. But it was the burning pain that had settle behind his eyes again that had Dean terrified that he would shortly lose his eyesight once again.

He thought to mention it to Jason, and had even gone so far as to open his mouth to utter the words, but then snapped it closed. Jason wasn't Rowan. He wouldn't care if Dean lost his eyesight, so why bother telling him.

"So, your brother's in deep with the demons," Jason said, interrupting Dean's troubled thoughts, as he glanced in his rearview mirror then shifted lanes and picked up speed. "That's gotta suck for you, knowing that you're probably gonna have to kill him an' all."

"What the hell are you talkin' about?" Dean shifted in his seat to eye Jason, his pain momentarily forgotten as sudden anger surged through him. "You don't know anything about my brother, so shut the hell up."

"I know all about your family, Dean," Jason contradicted. Shifting lanes once again, he hit the accelerator, and sped past numerous cars before maneuvering back into the other lane. "Your father sold his soul to save you. An' you sold yours for Sam. Must be some sort of fatal genetic glitch." He chuckled when he noticed Dean's scowl deepen, then further added, "Your mother died when you were four, an' that would've made Sam about six months old at the time. So cause of his age at the time, I'm figurin' he's some demon's bitch." Jason cast a glance in Dean's direction, almost daring him to say he was wrong, but when Dean said nothing, he returned his attention to the road. "Like I said, your brother's pretty much up shit's creek without a paddle in a boat that's sprung more than just a little leak."

Jason leaned over, opened the glove compartment, shuffled through the contents for a moment, yanked out a license and handed it to Dean. "Here, you're brother might want this back. He must've not realized he'd dropped it cause he was too busy killing the girl I found it next to."

Although Dean's vision was starting to blur and dim, there was still no mistaking the face on the license belonged to Sam. "Where'd you get this?" he asked as he held the driver's license out to Jason.

"Already told you where I found it." Jason brusquely raked his fingers through his scruffy dirty-blond hair as he eyed the photo. "Course, no one's ever gonna know your brother was even there. Rowan made damn sure we removed every bit of evidence that would link Sam to her murder . . . or any of the others for that matter."

If Jason had stabbed Dean in the heart, it wouldn't have brought him to his knees as quickly or as brutally as his caustic words had done. "Why the hell are you tellin' me all this?"

"Cause these are the people you've chosen to trust, putting your life in their hands, an' they're the ones who are gonna get you killed." Jason white-knuckled the steering wheel, his outwardly calm exterior giving way to the seething anger that boiled just below the surface. "Don't really give a damn what happens to you, but I'm not about to let you do anything that's gonna get Joshua killed. So if it means I have to tell you what kind of sick sadistic bastard your brother is, then that's just what I'm gonna do."

"You're wrong about Sam." Dean clenched his fists, wanting nothing more than to slam them into Jason's face. Yet, as he felt the crumpled license in his hand, he was forced to wonder how Jason could have gotten hold of it if he hadn't found it just like he had said. "My brother . . . Sammy . . . he wouldn't have done that to anyone."

"Huh, one thing I've learn about family, Dean, is that they'll always end up disappointing you in one way or another. Learned that lesson the hard way . . . ." his voice trailed off as he lightly grazed his fingers over a raised scar near the corner of his right eye. "An' I guess you have as well," he added as he nudged his head toward the photo in Dean's hand. "Look . . . ." he hesitated, scrubbing a hand across his stubbled jaw as a deep sigh escaped him. "I'm not meanin' to be cruel here, but I think you deserve to know the truth about your vampire friend."

Dean recalled an earlier conversation with Rowan, when he had asked the vampire what had happen to Bela. Rowan had responded evasively, saying maybe it was better if Dean just went on believing that Sam had kill her along with all the others. Now Dean was forced to wonder if his friend had said that because Sam had killed them, and Rowan had covered for him. "An' apparently you know what that truth is?"

"Probably the only one who does know the truth, Dean, or at least a part of it anyway."

"Did my brother really kill all those people," he breathed in a small broken whisper, not all that certain he really wanted to know if Sam murdered anyone.

If he never learned what Sam had done in regards to all the victims, there was always a chance that he was innocent as he claimed to be time and time again. Yet, the one very clear thing that Dean couldn't deny was that when he and Bobby had finally tracked Sam to an abandoned warehouse, Sam had nearly killed a little girl. Had it not been for Bobby rushing into the room when he did, startling Sam, the little girl would have been dead now. Even still she had suffered a gunshot wound from the Colt, which left little doubt in Dean's mind that his little brother had found Bela, and had managed to get the Colt away from her.

"I can't say that for sure," Jason was forced to admit, "but Rowan certainly believed he did. An' that sonuvabitch knew damn well I was the only one who would help him cover your brother's tracks. He was my friend . . . I'd trusted him more than anyone I'd ever known before, an' he used me, making me an' accessory to multiple murders . . . an' I have to say I'm glad he's dead."

Although Dean could now understand Jason's reasons for hating both Sam and Rowan, a part of him felt nothing but pure unadulterated relief that Rowan had stepped in and protected Sam from getting caught. "Maybe Rowan was protecting Sam cause he knew my brother was innocent. You said yourself that you never saw Sam kill anyone, so someone could've been framing him."

"I highly doubt that."

"But you're not sure, are you?" Dean prodded, wanting to hear Jason admit it. "An' if you're not sure, then I'm just gonna go on believin' that Sam's innocent an' Rowan was protecting him."

"Then you're dumber than I thought."

Jason fell silent as he mulled over Rowan's death. Although he had told Dean he was glad that the vampire had died, deep down he knew it was a lie. After his family had turned their backs on him, Rowan had stepped in and had become almost like a brother to him. A faint smile graced his ruggedly handsome features as he imagined what the vampire would think if he had ever told him that, and was glad he had never actually managed to tell him. If it hadn't been for Rowan, Jason would have probably been dead by now, or at the very least he would have been in prison serving a life sentence for murder.

His thoughts began to wander and he found himself thinking about his younger brother Ethan. Even at a very young age, Ethan had always been incredibly intelligent, so much so in fact, that no matter how well Jason might have done in school, he was always left in his brother's shadow. Ethan always just seem to know things, and at first Jason had been proud that his little brother was so smart, but that rapidly changed as they grew older. His younger brother had made it a point to make sure Jason always knew that he was found to be lacking in their parent's eyes.

A soft chuckle slipped past his lips as he recalled how he had managed to swindle his little brother out of his first year's college tuition. Of course, after Jason had gambled away every bit of money he had stolen from his brother, his parents had cut him off from the family without a dime to his name. At that thought, a sad frown creased his brow as he realized that it had been well over four years since he had last seen or spoken to anyone in his family.

" . . . Joshua's Guardians?"

So lost in thought, Jason only caught the last part of what Dean had said, but still understood what he was asking anyway. "Yeah, I took over watching him when Jamie-O's time came to an end." Scratching his head, Jason narrowed his eyes as he tried to recall how long ago it had been since he'd last seen the little boy that he had been chosen to protect. "That was about three years ago now, an' I've been with the Brethren ever since."

"The Brethren?" Dean quirked a brow in confusion. "What the hell's that?"

Jason restlessly tapped his fingers on the steering wheel as he tried to figure out the best way to describe exactly what the Brethren was, and then smirked as he said, "We're kinda like modern day apostles with a kick-ass edge."

"An' what does that mean?"

"Well, you know there's the mother of all wars coming, right?" He cast a glance in Dean's direction, waited until he saw him nod, and then returned his attention to the road. "It's the Holy War to end all wars, Dean . . . an' before it even begins, every damn hunter you've ever known will probably be dead an' buried." Jason heaved a weary sigh as he expertly wove his way through traffic and picked up speed once again. "An' the thing is that it's already started. Whether your brother killed all those people or not, it still doesn't change the fact that most of them were hunters."

"So what you're saying is that the Brethren is the last line of defense against Lucifer."

"Pretty much."

"An' what makes you any better than normal hunters?"

"We have superpowers, Dean . . . I myself have x-ray vision an' can melt things with my mind."

"Seriously?" Dean asked incredulously, momentarily wondering if he might have some hidden powers he didn't know about. After all, Sam had psychic abilities, so it didn't seem like that far of a stretch that he might have some latent abilities as well.

"Yeah, dude, they call me Supermelty Man," Jason rolled his eyes as he tugged on his flannel shirt. "an' this is me disguised as a regular guy. Hell, I don't know what makes us different from regular hunters . . . we just are." Jason fell silent once again as he thought of all the hunters he had known over the past three years, stomach churning as he realized that over half of them were dead now. "Anyhow, it all started a little over a year ago. We use to get some demon intel from this guy named Ash, but he died along with a lot of other hunters when this place called the Roadhouse burned to the ground."

"Yeah, I knew Ash," Dean muttered, remembering how he had gone to the Roadhouse with Bobby right after the fire had occurred, and found only Ash's watch amongst the burnt remains inside the building. "He was a friend of mine."

"Sorry for your loss." Jason shifted in his seat, uncomfortable with expressing any sort of sympathy for Dean or anyone else for that matter. It wasn't that he didn't care. The problem was that he'd always cared too much, and had ended up suffering for it more times than not. So to safeguard himself from getting hurt by people he cared about, Jason kept everyone at arms length, never allowing anyone to know the real him. "But, anyways," he said, to break the awkward silence that had fallen between them, "Hunter was there an' saw what happened. Not sure exactly why, but that sonuvabitch demon couldn't kill him, so they took him prisoner."

"Hunter?"

"Hunter James . . . he was Joshua's Guardian after Luke." A deep sigh escaped Jason as he glanced out his rearview mirror, and noticed a black pickup truck close on their tail. Switching lanes, he hit the accelerator and picked up speed, waiting to see if the driver would follow, but as they drove further and further away from the vehicle, he relaxed his posture, and returned his attention to Dean. "By the time we got him back, he was pretty messed up from what he saw them do and what they'd done to him."

"An' I'm supposed to be a member of this co-called Brethren?" Dean asked as he cracked opened the window and sniffed the air. On the stiff breeze he detected the strong scent of several vampires close by, and one of them was most definitely Killeon. "Damn it," he hissed as he glanced back over his shoulder and saw the blurred image of a black pickup truck that was now gaining speed on them once again, "shoulda killed the bastard when I had the chance."

"Huh?" Jason looked to Dean, quirking a puzzled brow at Dean sudden outburst. "Who were you gonna kill?"

"The freakin' vamp that's following us. Not gonna make the same mistake twice though." A low growl issued past Dean's lips as his fangs descended. At the sight of Dean's fangs, Jason nearly sideswiped a car as he momentarily forgot he was driving and lost control of his vehicle. Dean grabbed hold of the wheel and steered them back into the right lane.

"Holy freakin' shit. You're a goddamn vampire!"

"Yeah, I am. An' you're a dumb ass who's gonna get us freakin' killed if you don't keep your eyes on the road."

"Michael's got a damn vamp watching Joshua," Jason hissed, his hand slipping to the knife he had sheathed at his side. "What the hell was he thinking?"

"He was probably thinkin' that he'd finally found someone smart enough who could actually protect Joshua from Lucifer." He smirked, but as he recalled how many times Michael had upbraided him for being such a poor Guardian for Joshua, his grin faltered and then died away completely.

Dean ran his tongue over his fangs as he contemplated how he was going to protect Joshua from Killeon without his eyesight. If Rowan had been alive, he might not have been so worried, but without his friend's help, he was terrified that he might not be able to keep his young charge safe from all the evil beings that were hunting him. And at the moment, Killeon topped that list.

So deep in thought, Dean accidentally sliced through his tongue with his sharpened fangs, and winced as blood filled his mouth and trickled down the back of his throat. His hunger instantly ignited, the taste of his own blood fueling his desire for more. _Damn it, not now . . . please not now. _

"I don't care if you are Joshua's Guardian or not, if you try anything, I swear I'll kill you," Jason vowed, his grip tightening around the knife he now held in his hand.

"I promise I'm not gonna hurt you."

The steady thrum of Jason's heartbeat quickened as he eyed Dean warily. By the warring emotions that crossed his features, Dean determined that the other hunter was trying to decide if he should make good on his threat or if he should trust that Dean wouldn't hurt him.

"Look, jus' cause I'm a vamp ---" Dean's voice abruptly trailed off as a thought struck him. "I'm a vampire." A brilliant smile lit across his pale features. He shifted in his seat to look back over his shoulder to search for the truck that was following them. "An' they're vamps, too."

"Thanks for that oh so timely update on why I'm so totally screwed." Jason's posture tensed as he glanced out his side-view mirror.

"No, you don't understand." Dean shook his head as his grin widened. "I'm a vampire."

"Yeah, I think I got the gist of that the first three times you said it."

"But I can't be a vamp if he's dead." The smile on Dean's face vanished as a spine-tingling chill raced down the length of his back. "Rowan's alive. We have to turn around an' go back."

Jason cast an incredulous glance in Dean's direction. "You're out of your freakin' mind if you think I'm turning around an' going back to dig him up."

Dean leaned in threateningly close, and his arm snaked out to grab hold of Jason's, knocking the knife from his hand. "Listen to me, I really don't care what you think of Rowan personally, you _are_ gonna turn around." He bared his fangs, a low growl slipping past his lips as his grip tightened on Jason's arm. "An' if you don't, I'm gonna turn you into a vampire so then I wouldn't feel quite so bad when I kill your sorry ass."

"So we're turning around then I take it," Jason chuckled as he shrugged free of Dean's grasp and did a hasty u-turn. Car horns blared as he momentarily swerved into the wrong lane then shifted back into his own. "See all you had to do was ask nicely." Glancing back over his shoulder, he noticed that the black truck kept traveling in the other direction, and made no attempt to turn and follow them. "Ummm . . . I know I should be happy about this, but they aren't following."

"That's cause they're going after Joshua."

"An' you still want me to go back to the cemetery for Rowan?" Jason lifted his foot from the gas pedal, slowing down as he waited for Dean to make a decision. "He might not even be alive, Dean. Your job is Joshua not taking care of some damn vamp."

Dean weighed his options very carefully, knowing full well that if anything happened to Joshua he would be sent straight to Hell, but for all Rowan had done for him, he knew in his heart that he couldn't leave him buried alive underground with no hope of escape. "We save Rowan first and then go after Killeon." As an afterthought, he added, "An' I don't need you to tell me what my damn job is, that's what I have Michael for."

"Alright, Dean, but if anything happens to Joshua cause I listened to you, nothin' will stop me from killin' ya. Understand?" he said, not the hint of humor in his tone as he white-knuckled the steering wheel and picked up speed, racing back to the cemetery.

XxXxXxXxXxX

"Damn it, dig faster," Dean growled as he wiped the sweat streaming from his brow.

When they had left the graveyard, Rowan's body had only been buried beneath about three feet of dirt, but when they returned all the rest of the dirt had been filled in and packed down firmly. Whomever had buried the vampire the rest of the way must have been determined that no one would have an easy time unearthing him. Dean seriously doubted that Michael would be that cruel even if the archangel felt this was some sort of lesson Dean and Rowan were supposed to learn from. That left only Lucifer or Killeon, but Dean was leaning toward the demon as the culprit.

"What part of I was on vacation weren't you understanding when I said it before?" Jason asked as he hefted another shovelful of dirt over his shoulder. "An' I know you might not care, but this was the first time I've been on vacation since I was Joshua's guardian. Not to mention that I have this really hot lookin' chick waitin' for me in San Diego who can do things with her tongue that might even be considered illegal in some states."

"My heart bleeds for you, now get your ass diggin'." Dean paused for a moment from hefting dirt out of the grave, and rubbed his eyes. Although he hadn't mentioned it to Jason, it was getting hard and harder to see. And whereas Jason had hardly broken a sweat at all, Dean's damp t-shirt clung to him as his fever raged. Drawing in a staggering breath, he dug back into the harden earth, and scooped another shovelful of dirt over his shoulder. "So what could this girl possibly do with her tongue that would be considered illegal in some states?" he asked with a grin, trying to keep his mind off his failing eyesight.

"Ahhh, can't tell you that," Jason chuckled, "but let's jus' say she's so worth the long drive cross-country."

Jason hesitated for a moment as he glanced up at Dean, noticing how the hunter seemed to be having a hard time staying steady on his feet. Although Dean tried to hide it, Jason could see how badly he was trembling from exertion, and had noticed the eldest Winchester rubbing at his eyes several times while they had been digging. Sweat glistened from his forehead and dripped down his flushed cheeks, but Dean refused to quit or admit that he was in any pain. "You know, maybe you should keep a look out for Lucifer while I finish digging," he said, hating himself for feeling bad for the other hunter. He hadn't wanted to like Joshua's newest Guardian, but the fierce loyalty and determination he had witnessed from Dean made it extremely hard for Jason to find fault with him. "We don't have much further to go, an' I can handle it myself."

"No, I can do this," Dean muttered, obviously realizing why Jason had made the suggestion.

"Whatever, dude." he heaved an irritated groan. "But when you drop over don't be lookin' to me to carry your ass to the car cause as I said before I'm on vacation." He grinned, but it faded quickly as he saw Dean squeeze his eyes shut as he clutched hold of his chest. Wincing in pain, the hunter struggled to draw in a ragged breath. Heaving another heavy sigh, Jason dropped his shovel, and took the other one out of Dean's hands. "Go sit down an' catch your breath while I finish this. An' that wasn't a request if you were wondering."

"M'okay," Dean murmured in between gasping breaths.

"Sure you are." Jason rolled his eyes as he pressed his fingertips into Dean's shoulder and lightly nudged him, nearly knocking the hunter off his feet. "Don't make me kick your ass jus' to get you to sit down, cause I will even if I am on vacation."

Dean grumbled for a few more seconds, but finally did as Jason had asked. "Fer someone on vacation, you certainly seem to like doing grunt labor an' bossin' other people around."

"Hmmm . . . if you think I boss people around wait till you meet Lochlan." He laughed as he resumed digging. But at the thought of the Brethren, Jason instantly sobered, his laughter dying away. "I know how it is, Dean. I mean to be close to dying, an' have no one to turn to when you need them the most."

"How could you know that?"

"Cause I got into trouble with some people who don't take the response of I'll get you the money by next week as a good enough answer not to beat the living shit out of you." Almost unconsciously his fingers grazed across the raised scar at the corner of his eye. "An it sucks like all hell when the people you think you can count on turn their backs on you an' leave you to fend for yourself." He groaned, mentally kicking himself for divulging more about himself than he had intended. "Anyway, all I'm sayin' is that I wouldn't blindly trust in Rowan. There's a reason why he's been damned for all eternity."

"I'm not as dumb as people seem to think I am," Dean defended his actions as far as Rowan was concerned. "Michael has this thing he likes to call a Crucible Creed, have you ever heard of it?"

Jason gave a curt shake of his head as he continued to dig. "Nope, can't say that I have."

"Well, from my understanding it is a kind of a test to see how much faith a person really has."

"So?"

"Well, I've been giving it a lot of thought, an' I think Michael wants Rowan to redeem himself. An' I also think he wants me to help him do it."

"Why would you think that?" Jason shrugged clearly not understanding what Dean was trying to explain. "After what he did, I just can't ever see Michael wanting him to be forgiven."

Dean pursed his lips as he gave it some more thought, but his instincts told him he was right no matter how far-fetched it might have seemed to anyone else. "Honestly, I don't know. But I believe that's why he allowed me to be turned into a vamp to save Rowan. An' I'm also pretty sure that's why he told me that Rowan was dead."

"Maybe Michael just wanted you away from Rowan, and felt this was the only way to accomplish it?"

"No." Dean shook his head, and clearing his throat, he prepared to tell Jason something that he hadn't told anyone else. "I don't know how else to describe it, but I can literally feel Rowan's pain. When he's hurting, I know it. An' I know it sounds weird, but it feels like he's a part of me."

"Almost like he completes you, Jerry?" Jason chuckled.

Raking his fingers through his soddened mohawk, Dean heaved an aggravated groan at the cheesy movie reference."You know what, forget I even mentioned it."

"Naww. . . go on, I'm jus' jokin' with ya." Jason said, a teasing smile lingering on his features as he hefted more dirt over his shoulder. "So you were sayin' he's a part of you . . . what exactly does that mean?"

"I haven't figured that out yet, but I'm pretty sure it has something to do with the amulet. It belonged to him first, an' now it's mine."

"Well, at least that makes a little more sense. It is an ancient charm, an even though we've researched it pretty thoroughly, no one in the Brethren is all that certain what kind of power it really possesses."

Jason scooped out another pile of dirt, and was about to dig in again when he noticed a slight movement beneath the layer of dirt. "Dean, I found him." He tossed aside the shovel, sank to his knees and began pushing aside the dirt with his hands.

Their conversation forgotten, Dean got to his feet and moved to stand over the grave. "Get out of there, an' let me do it," he ordered and as soon as Jason did as he'd asked, Dean carefully slid down into the hole, and finished uncovering his friend's body. "Rowan?" He held his breath, waiting and praying that the vampire would hear him and respond. "Damn it, you'd better answer me or I'll bury your ass again."

Rowan jerked forward and drew in a sudden sharp intake of air, gasping for breath as he looked wildly about the six-foot deep hole. His wary gaze finally locked on Dean. "Wh-what part of I c-can't die do y-you need me to explain to you?" He quirked a brow as he quickly surveyed their surroundings again then refocused his attention on Dean. "Is it the part where you don't bury the live vampire under six feet of dirt? Cause I know we didn't go over that particular part, but I jus' thought it was understood."

"You're just lucky I came back for your sorry ass." Dean chuckled, overwhelmingly relieved to hear Rowan's voice again.

"It's a good thing you did cause I would've been really pissed if I had to dig my way out. Probably would've had to kill you, and then I might've felt bad after a while. . . well, probably not but ya never know."

"Let's get out of here." Dean hitched an arm around Rowan's back to help him up, but Rowan shuddered and abruptly jerked away from him.

Squeezing his eyelids shut, the vampire took several slow deep breaths before he finally reopened his eyes. "I-I can do it myself, Dean. Besides you're the one dyin' here, not me."

"Are you alright, Rowan?"

"I've been better, but at least I'm alive an' that's gotta mean something, right?" he said rather evasively. A slow smile spread across his features to mask the pain he was in, but Dean wasn't fooled for the slightest moment. "We better get you out of here, Dean. You're not lookin' so good an' we still need to get your amulet back from Jax."

"Alright." Dean gave a curt nod as he got to his feet, and watched as Rowan struggled to do the same. "But don't think for a moment that we aren't gonna talk about what's wrong with you cause I know you're hidin' something from me."

"There's nothing to talk about," Rowan assured as Jason lent him a hand getting out of the grave. Even the slightest movement, sent searing pain down the length of his bruised and battered back. Yet he wasn't about to tell Dean what Lucifer had done to him. Nor did he have any intension of telling his friend how the demon had threatened to harm Collin if he didn't betray him. Dean would never believe that he had chosen to protect him over his own child. And if Dean didn't believe in him, Rowan would never have the chance to make things right. So if he had to suffer in silence, he was more than prepared to do so. "Like I said before, I'm alive an' that's gotta mean something."


	10. Chapter 10

so another fairly long chappy to make up for the long wait...hope everyone enjoys!! thanks for reading and for the awesome reviews!! bambers;)

_Chapter Ten_

"You just left my Porsche unlocked in a cemetery, an' didn't think someone might steal it?" Rowan grumbled from the backseat of Jason's cherry-red 1968 Chevy Nova. He leaned forward on the seat, resting his arms on the backrest, and heaved an exasperated groan. "It was a freakin' brand new Porsche for Christ's sake. Which I know means nothing to people who only buy cars from junkyards, an' call 'em fixer uppers. But in the real world cars are supposed to cost more than a hundred dollars, an' that's why expensive cars like my Porsche get stolen. So . . . the lesson in this is that we don't leave Rowan's expensive car behind an' take Jason's piece of junk when leaving a graveyard in the future."

"Thought I told you to call me JD?" Pretending to stretch, Jason elbowed Rowan in the face, and snorted a laugh when he saw the vampire grabbed for his nose while cursing under his breath. "An' since you paid for this car as well, I really don't see what you're complaining about."

"That's right, I did, didn't I." Rowan smirked as he wrapped his arm around Jason's neck and roughly jerked him backward in his seat. He leaned closer, his face within mere inches of Jason's and hissed, "Which means that you're gonna find my car or I'm taking yours, _Jason_, an' then I'm gonna buy you a minivan to drive around in."

"Le' go of him, Rowan," Dean mumbled hoarsely. Tilting his head to the side, he pried his eyes open and then narrowed them to a squint, but could only make out to two blurred shadows beside him. "Think ya could turn off the radio," he licked his dried, cracked lips, "the noise is hurtin' my head."

"Not a problem." Jason hastily complied as he gave Rowan a worried look through the rearview mirror. "We'll be in Charlotte in about forty-five minutes then about another fifteen minutes to Rowan's cabin."

"He really doesn't need an update on when we'll get to my place every five minutes, Jason."

"I'm jus' tryin' to help here, Vampinstein," Jason snapped, "forgive me if I'm not used to havin' a dyin' guy in my front seat. Although this is probably nothing new for you, I'd imagine."

"Naww . . .I usually tend to drive around with smart asses who don't know when to keep their mouths shut before they lose their vacation pay." Rowan lifted a single brow as he cast a devilish grin in Jason's direction. "By the way, aren't you supposed to be on vacation right now?" he chuckled as he added, "Oh, I so wouldn't be expecting to see that paycheck if I were you."

"You can't do that," Jason growled, slamming his hand down hard on the steering wheel, "I haven't had a vacation in almost four years an' you promised."

"I've decided that I'm givin' you my Porsche instead of vacation pay this year . . . it's also your Christmas bonus. Enjoy."

"But your Porsche was stolen."

"All the more reason for you to find it then I guess."

"R-Rowan," Dean cried out, instantly halting the two men from arguing any further. "S-Somethin's not r-right . . . g-gonna be s-sick."

"Stop the car!" Rowan ordered, although he didn't have to as Jason slammed on the brakes and swerved to the shoulder of the road.

Jason flung open the door and leapt out of the car with Rowan following directly behind him. Darting around to the passenger's side, Rowan helped Dean out of the car. Dean didn't even make it two feet before he fell to his knees, doubled over and wretched violently. Blood leaked from the younger vampire's eyes and nose as he continued to throw up his own lifeblood. Dean choked and gasped for breath as blood continued to spew from his mouth and nose.

"C-Can't br-breathe," Dean gasped as he struggled to draw in air.

"Dean, listen to me." Rowan dropped down in front of his friend, not the least bit concerned that he was kneeling the younger man's bloody vomit. He gripped hold of both sides of Dean's face and forced him to look up at him. "You're a vampire. You don't need to breathe to live. Do you hear me? You don't need it." He glanced up at Jason, and ordered, "Get me a knife now," then refocused his attention on his ailing friend. "You do however need blood, an' you're losin' yours way too quickly."

"Is he gonna be alright?" Jason asked as he quickly unsheathed his blade and handed it to Rowan.

Without bothering to answer Jason, Rowan yanked back his shirt sleeve and dug the blade deep into his veins. "You trust me, Dean?" He waited until he saw a weak nod come from his friend then proceeded onward. "Jason go back an' lock yourself inside the car, an' whatever you do, don't you dare come back out here."

"What the hell are you gonna do?" Jason stubbornly stood his ground. "An' why'd you cut your arm open?"

"Hopefully the smell of my blood will cover your scent," he said as he surveyed their surroundings and noticed a forest not too far in the distance. "He's losin' all his blood . . . an' once he realizes he doesn't need to breathe to live, he's gonna be so damn hungry, an' you're gonna be the first thing he goes after."

"So I should wait in the car then," Jason gulped as he hitched a thumb over his shoulder toward his vehicle, "gotcha."

"Smart boy, I knew you'd see things my way."

Not waiting for Jason to do as he had asked, Rowan rose to stand and hauled Dean to his feet. Hefting the younger vampire over his shoulder, Rowan grimaced as Dean's flailing arms smacked against the jagged welts on his back. Mindful of his own waning strength, Rowan made his way deep into the forest as quickly as he possibly could. Gently setting the younger vampire down to rest again a tree trunk, Rowan knelt beside him. For several seconds he watched as his friend continued to struggle for breath as blood continued to trickle from his mouth, nose and eyes. Dean continued to gasp and choke on his own blood, the muscles and veins in his neck bulging as he desperately tried to draw in air.

"You have to let go of the need to breathe, Dean," he finally uttered in a low hoarse whisper. "Cause if you don't you're never gonna make it out of this damn forest alive."

Clutching at his throat, Dean looked to Rowan with wild green eyes, silently pleading with him to help him. "Just relax, Dean." Rowan pried Dean's hand away from his throat and grabbed for the other one as well. As he held both the younger man's hands in a firm grip to stop him from writhing about, Rowan met and held his friend's terrified gaze. "The most basic of human needs is the need to breathe. So basic in fact that a person does it without ever having to even think about it. But on a certain level a vampire must subconsciously think about it because it's not necessary to our survival."

Letting go of Dean's hands, Rowan shifted to sit beside him, and wrapped a protective arm around the younger vampire in a comforting manner. "An' I know this whole being a vamp thing is new to you, an' every ingrained instinct says you need to breathe to live, but you have to trust me on this." As Dean listened his posture relaxed slightly while his attempts to draw in air dwindled. "That's it, Dean, jus' let go, an' I swear you'll be okay. I'm not about to let anything bad happen to ya."

All the tension eased from Dean's body as he closed his eyes and stopped struggling to breathe. Within a matter of moments, the blood stopped trickling from his mouth and nose, and a few seconds afterward the blood dripping from his eyes returned to normal tears. "Wh-why didn't you tell me th-this before?" he asked in a strained whisper.

"Truthfully, I was hoping I'd never have to tell you." Rowan shrugged. "An' I was actually kinda hoping that you wouldn't be a vamp long enough that you'd be forced to fully embrace what you are."

"Really hungry," Dean muttered, not wanting to think of what it meant to fully embrace the idea of being a vampire.

"Yeah, you lost a helluva lot of blood, so I knew you would be." Rowan glanced down at his bloodied wrist and swore under his breath. Although his blood would sustain Dean's hunger for a while, it wouldn't give him the strength he needed to fight against the sickness raging inside of him. "Aww . . . damn it all to hell," he hissed as he thought of the one thing that might help his friend, but knew Dean would resoundingly object. "I know I ask you this a lot, Dean, but how much do you really trust me?"

"With my life, you know that," Dean replied without the slightest hesitation.

"Good, cause I don't want you to argue with me about this." Rowan unsheathed the knife from Dean's holster, and pressed it into Dean's hand. "I need you to kill me an' then take my heart."

Dean immediately drew away from him while shaking his head emphatically. "What the hell are you talkin' about? I'm not gonna kill you."

"You have to, it's the only way I can think of to keep you alive long enough to save your life." Rowan swallowed hard, and cast Dean his most winsome smile, trying his damnedest not to show how terrified he was at the thought of losing his heart even if it was only temporarily. "Once I'm dead, you cut out my heart an' you eat it. Understand me? It'll give you the strength you need to survive until we find Jax."

"What are you out of your freakin' mind?" He dropped the knife as he continued to shake his head. "I'm not gonna do it, so don't bring it up again."

"Dean, you have no choice in the matter," Rowan argued, snatching the blade off the ground. "It's not like I'll stay dead for very long. An' if you really think about it, it's no worse than drinking my blood to survive."

"It's your damn heart we're talkin' about here, Rowan, an' don't tell me that doesn't scare the hell out of you cause I can feel how terrified you are."

"You wanna see Sam again?" Rowan countered, knowing it was a low blow, but also understood that it was probably the only thing that would get the young hunter to see things his way. "If we don't do this now, you can forget about ever seeing him again."

An unmistakable look of guilt crossed Dean's features as he briefly considered Rowan's offer. "Don't do that, don't bring Sammy into this."

"Why not, Dean? You sold your soul for him." Rowan quirked a brow as he held the knife out to Dean. "You'd do anything for him. So we can argue about this all night long, but you know in the end you're gonna do whatever you need to do to be back with your brother again."

"An' if I agree to this, worst case scenario, what happens to you?"

Rowan lowered his head, not able to meet Dean's gaze as he replied, "Truthfully, I don't know. It's not like I go around an' give my heart away every time something kills me." He chuckled, trying to make light of the situation, but his laughter quickly died away as he saw Dean scowl.

"I don't see anything funny about what you're askin' me to consider." Dean's scowl deepened as he snatched the knife out of Rowan's hand. "What if I do this an' you come back different?"

"What does it matter, you've already decided." Rowan nudged his head toward the blade that Dean held in a firm grasp. Grasping hold of both sides of his shirt, Rowan ripped it open and nudged his head in the direction of his heart. "Jus' make it quick cause the last time you killed me it hurt like hell."

"Are you sure there's no other way?"

"Well, there's always Jason. You could kill him instead." Rowan smirked as Dean heaved an aggravated groan. "Course if you do kill him, he isn't gonna come back tomorrow. Not necessarily a bad thing, but I think he might object."

"Please don't make me do this," Dean uttered in a hoarse whisper, ignoring his friend's attempt at humor. "I don't wanna hurt you."

"My strength lies within my heart, Dean, an' I'm givin' it to you so you can protect Joshua." Rowan squeezed his eyelids closed, mentally preparing himself for the pain he knew was inevitable. "You have to let me do this for you."

"I'm so sorry," Dean mumbled, tears trailing down his cheeks as he raised the knife and drove it into Rowan's chest. "Oh God, I'm so sorry . . . so damn sorry," he cried out over and over again as he shakily wielded the blade, carving out his best friend's heart. Rowan's screams and cries of pain echoed throughout the forest, and then all to quickly faded away as he slumped to the ground.

With his friend's still beating heart in his hand, Dean fell back against the tree, his own heart shattering at the thought of what he had just done. "Oh God, what did I do . . . what the hell did I do?" Tears slipped silently down his face as he wrapped his arm around Rowan's lifeless body. "Why the hell did I listen to you . . . why'd you let me do this to you?"

A sob caught in his throat as Rowan's words came back to haunt him. _So we can argue about this all night long, but you know in the end you're gonna do whatever you need to do to be back with your brother again._ The elder vampire had been right, and that thought terrified Dean. It was one thing if he bargained with his own life, but now he had risked Rowan's. _What if he comes back different? Damn it, he's been tryin' so damn hard to redeem himself, an' if he comes back changed it could ruin everything for him._

"I can't do this," he muttered with a curt shake of his head as he hungrily eyed the bloodied heart clenched in his hand. "I'm not like this . . . I'm not a vampire," he denied even as he heard Jason's strong heartbeat not too far in the distance, and felt the pang of hunger in his stomach grow at an alarming rate.

_It's the only way, Dean, _he heard Rowan's stoic voice fill his mind. _You know it's true or you would've never gone this far . . . so jus' do it an' get it over with._

Squeezing his eyes shut, Dean brought the heart up to his mouth and bit down hard, ripping through it with his sharpened fangs. As the vampire's blood coated Dean's mouth, a deep primal need sparked within him, and any other conscious thought escaped him as he chewed through the sinewy muscle. Thick, bittersweet blood squirted from Rowan's heart valves into Dean's mouth as he voraciously tore through the organ, devouring it within a matter of minutes.

Dean swiped the back of his hand across his face as his gaze fell to his friend's prone body, then he peered down at the blood staining his flannel shirt, and a wave of sickness crashed down upon him. Hastily covering his hand over his mouth, he twisted around and wretched violently behind the tree.

After several very long minutes, his stomach finally began to settle, and slowly he made his way to his feet. With tears silently trailing down his cheeks, he carefully lifted Rowan's lifeless body off the ground, and repositioned him into a fireman's carry.

Dean hadn't even taken two steps toward Jason's car when his knees buckled and he dropped to the ground. Everything shifted in and out of focus as a strange buzzing filled his ears. The ringing sound rapidly changed to the sound of low voices. Images flashed behind his closed eyelids; at first they were dark and distorted, but soon they became a little more clear. Sudden realization struck him that one of the voices he was hearing belonged to Rowan, and the images shifting through his mind were his friend's memories.

"_Damn it, Rowan, you can't trust him," a man who looked strikingly similar to Sam said as he grabbed hold of Rowan's arm and swung him back to face him. "He tells you to make this goddamn gun that can supposedly kill anything, an' you just blindly go an' believe him?"_

"_He said it was my only chance, Micheal Dean, so yeah, I do trust him." Rowan shrugged free of the younger man's hold on him and turned his back on his friend. "I have to . . . I've lived long enough. I've paid the price for my sins a thousand times over an' I'm ready to die. So if it means listening to what Lucifer has to say then that's just what I plan on doing." _

_Undaunted the dark-haired man with hazel eyes shifted his position so he was once again standing in front of Rowan. "An' what if he told you how to make this gun . . . this Colt so he could use it to his own benefit after your gone?" Micheal Dean crossed his arms as he glared at the vampire. "What if by making this weapon, you become even more damned than you already are? Did you ever think of that in your ceaseless quest to end your life?" _

"_I can't possibly be any more damned than I already am," Rowan stubbornly argued, tilting his chin defiantly as he glared up at the taller man. "You have no idea what it's like to know that everyone around you will eventually die an' leave you behind, an' yet your stuck living on endlessly."_

"_Well, I won't help you. I won't do what you asked me to do." Tears brimmed in the younger man's eyes as he adamantly shook his head. "You're the best friend I've ever had, an' no matter how many times you ask me, you'll never die by my hand."_

"_Then you aren't really my friend." Rowan once again turned his back on Micheal Dean and strode away._

Dean was abruptly pulled from the vision as he felt a hand on his shoulder. Startled, Dean jerked around and saw Jason towering over him with a machete in hand. His menacing gaze ticked from Dean to Rowan and then down to the blood covering Dean's shirt and splattered on his jeans.

"One thing I've learned from being a part of the Brethren is that you never trust a filthy vamp." He gestured toward Rowan's lifeless body then to Dean's shirt. "Cause one day you'll wake up an' find yourself on the wrong side of his fangs."


	11. Chapter 11

so, sorry about the long wait!! hopefully the chappy doesn't disappoint! sorry for it being so short!! thanks for reading and for the awesome reviews!!

_Chapter Eleven_

"JD put that damn thing down," Dean hissed, raising his arms out to the sides in a non-threatening manner as he slowly got to his feet. "This isn't what it looks like." He gestured toward Rowan's motionless form, and inwardly cringed. "Well, it actually is, but not in the way you think. He's not dead . . . well, he is, but not in a throw him in a hole an' cover him over with dirt kinda way."

"Well, did you rip out his heart in a non-ripping out his heart sort of way, too, Dean?" He motioned toward the gaping hole in Rowan's chest. "Look," he heaved an aggravated groan, "I don't really care what sort of weird kink kinda thing you two got goin' on. An' if it works for ya hey, I say to each their own, but I can't have you riskin' Joshua's life because of it."

"Damn it, I'm not puttin' Joshua's life at risk." Dean's anger flared, extremely tired of being accused of doing a horrible job of taking care of his young charge. Granted he had made some mistakes along the way, but he was doing the best he could under the circumstances. And it wasn't like he had intentionally planned on biting Lucifer or getting sick, but there was no sense in arguing with Jason about it. "But if you think you're gonna try an' kill me, I'm thinkin' Michael might have something to say about it. An' damn I'd hate to be you when he does find out you've kept us standing here when I'm supposed to be with Joshua. So in other words, put the damn machete down, an' help me get Rowan to the car so we can get the hell out of here." As Dean watched his fellow hunter grapple with the indecision of whether to kill him or not, Dean eased himself down to pick Rowan up off the ground. "So, you gonna help me here or what?"

"You know, I'm really startin' to like you just about as much as I like him." Jason nudged his head toward the elder vampire as he sheathed his weapon, and then bent to help Dean pick up Rowan. "An' that's not a whole helluva lot in case you're wonderin'."

XxXxXxXxXxX

A hour and a half later they pulled into the driveway leading to Rowan's cabin. Jason parked the car, hopped out of it and pushed back the seat to drag Rowan's body out of the vehicle while Dean slowly made his way to his feet. Although Dean felt a little stronger, even the slightest movement now left him wincing in pain. He sluggishly made his way around the car to help Jason with Rowan, but Jason pushed his hands away, and began dragging the dead vampire toward the door by himself.

"So are we supposed to drag him through the front door or is there a special entrance for bringing in the dead?" Jason quirked a brow as he looked from Dean to the front entrance and then back again. "Like a doggy door designed for vamps."

"Stop bein' such a ass, JD," Dean mumbled as he wearily wiped away the sweat dripping from his brow. He paused for a moment to steady himself, and as he did he realized that his fellow Guardian had raised a valid point. They couldn't very well bring Rowan through the front door with Joshua there. There was also the matter of Rowan's son. From what Dean knew of their relationship, Collin had never seen his father before, and the eldest Winchester highly doubted Rowan would make a very good impression if he showed up dead to meet his son for the first time. "Maybe we should leave him in the car for the night," Dean suggested, not knowing of any other place where they could stash the vampire's body until he woke up.

"You're not seriously suggesting that we leave a bloodied corpse in the backseat of my car are you?" Jason asked incredulously, dropping Rowan to the ground as he shook his head. "No way, it's so not gonna happen. Cause it's not like you can just wash vamp stench off of leather with a bucket of soap an' water."

"Then get an' air freshener cause we are leavin' him in there."

"Rowan is so buying me a new car," Jason huffed as hefted Rowan off the ground and carried him back to the car. "An' I'll tell you what, it's not gonna be a minivan either."

Dean was about to make a comment when he heard Rowan's cell phone ringing. Jason fished through all the vampire's pockets until he found the phone. After briefly glancing at the caller ID, he held it aloft, and said, "It's some guy named Jax Callio, should I tell him Rowan's dead an' he'll call him back later or do you wanna talk to him?"

"Jus' give me the damn phone, JD," Dean snarled, ripping the cell phone out of the other hunter's hand. "Jax, where the hell are you?" Dean gripped a firmer hold on the phone in an attempt to stop his hand from shaking so badly. "I need my damn amulet now!"

"Dean, I ain't got time ta talk about yer amulet right now, I need to talk ta Rowan," Jax replied, the urgency in his tone mirroring Dean's. "It's real important."

"You lost your amulet?" Jason butted in on the conversation, "No one's ever lost their amulet. Are you just perpetually cursed or are you just really, really bad at this job?"

"Shut the hell up, Jason," he hissed through clenched teeth, turning his back on the taller man so he could focus on his conversation with Jax. "Listen, Jax, I really need my amulet, it's sort of a matter of life an' death. You still have it, right?" he asked Jax, a bad feeling creeping into his stomach as Jax hesitated in answering.

"Yeah, I got your damn amulet, Dean, not like I was gonna lose it on the road trip from Vegas ta here." Jax heaved an exasperated groan. "Now can I talk to Rowan?"

"He can't come to the phone right now," Dean said as he glanced back over his shoulder just in time to see the blurry image of Jason dropping the vampire into the backseat of his car. "He's . . . well, he's dead tired at the moment, so I'll have him call you when he wakes up."

"Well, wake him the hell up," Jaxed pressed, his voice rising in anger, "He has to make a call to the hospital for me so they'll let me in ta see Becca."

"I could try, but he really sleeps like the dead sometimes," Dean chuckled weakly, despite the direness of the situation he was now in. "It would really be like waking the dead."

"Dean," Jason chimed in, rolling his eyes, "do you really think you're making anyone else here laugh with those really lame-ass jokes besides yourself?"

"Dean," Jax snapped, sounding as if he was at the end of his patience. "I have ta get in ta see Becca or she's gonna die, so put Rowan on the damn phone now or the next time I see you I'll forget yer Sam's brother for a moment, an' use whatever power I have ta really hurt you. Understand?"

"Well, you listen to me, Jax," Dean hissed, all humor leaving his tone as he white-knuckled the phone. He teetered on his feet for a moment as a wave of dizziness washed over him. Heat rose to flush his face as his fever once again returned with a vengeance. Drawing in a gasping breath, he continued, "If I don't get that damn amulet back within the next few hours, I'm a dead man, so y-you can threaten me all you like, but I still can't get Rowan for ya."

"You're what?" Jax's voice instantly softened as concern tinged his tone. "But you told me -- "

"I'm outta time, Jax," Dean abruptly cut him off, "cause apparently biting Lucifer was a really bad idea, who knew?" Dean shook his head in aggravation, and momentarily losing his balance, he reached out and grasped hold of the roof of Jason's car for support. "An' the real kicker is that some dumb ass stole the one thing that could have saved me from losing my eyesight."

"Yer blind?" Jax's voice rose once again, coming out sounding high-pitched and squeaky.

"I'm not walkin' around with a seein' eye dog yet or swingin' a cane so I don't hit into anything." Dean leaned back against the car feeling as if his legs were about to give out on him. Wiping away the sweat dripping down his forehead, he continued in a shaky voice, "B-but yeah, I'm pretty much blind."

"Umm . . . ." Jason spoke up once again, "I think the people of the non-seeing community prefer the term visually unsighted." He chuckled, but when Dean swung to glare at him, the laughter died on his lips. "What?" he shrugged, trying his damnedest to look sheepish, but failed miserably. "I was just tryin' to be politically correct."

"I'm so sorry, Dean," Jax muttered, "Ya gotta believe if I had known ya were so bad off, I would've come back ta Vegas ta give it ta you."

"So why do you need Rowan's help to get in to see this Becca person?" Dean asked, wanting nothing more at the moment than to change the subject. He could hear the pity in the young man's voice, and the very last thing he wanted was to have someone feel sorry for him.

"Well, apparently he's her cousin from what they told me, which I highly doubt." Jax heaved another aggravated groan. "But I have to be on the list to get in an' see her so I can heal her. Which means Rowan has to call them for me."

"Jax, you don't even know if you've got the kind of power to do that," Dean said, although he knew for certain that the younger hunter did have the ability to save Becca. Yet, he was more than just a little bit leery to have someone with Jax's abilities around his little brother. As long as Jax didn't know what he was actually capable of doing, he was not a threat to Sam, and Dean wanted to keep it that way.

"She . . . she's dyin', Dean," the desperation returned to the young hunter's tone, "I need ta at least try an' save her."

"S-so this Becca girl is dying an' you're the only one who can help her?" Dean squeezed his eyes closed as an explosion of pain ripped through his forehead. In a desperate attempt to quell the throbbing pain, he ground the palm of his free hand into the side of his temple, and began to rubbed it in slow circles.

"Becca?" Jason butted into the conversation again, but this time there was no humor in his voice. "What do you mean she's dying? Where is she?"

Dean pulled the phone away from his ear, and covered it with his hand. "Y-you know her?"

"Yeah, of course I do. Where the hell is she, Dean?" A look of undeniable urgency filled the Guardian's deep blue eyes. "If she's dying I have to see her first."

Dean hesitated for a moment, and then gave a subtle nod, before returning his attention to the phone. "Jax, where are you?" He swallowed hard against the growing ache in the pit of his stomach. Tears welled in his eyes as stark, searing pain shot through his entire body. "I - I'm gonna s-send Jason to pick you up . . . P-pretty sure his name'll be on the list."

Jax was silent for a moment, and then Dean heard him sigh again. "I dunno, it's some motel near the hospital."

"Kay, I'll just have Jason knock on every motel room door within fifteen miles of the hospital until he finds you. I'm sure he won't mind." Dean rolled his eyes. Giving up the losing battle to stay on his feet, Dean sunk to the ground, and leaned back against Jason's car. "S-so not helpful, Jax. Ask S-Sammy where you are."

"Just a sec," Jax uttered, and Dean heard what sounded like a door creaking open before he Jax called out to Sam. "Sam, what's the name of the motel we're stayin' at?" Dean pressed his ear closer to the phone so he might be able to hear his little' brother's response, but heard nothing but the sound of Jax's steady breathing coming through the line. Within a few moments of talking to Sam, Jax came said, "It's the Stay Asleep Motel."

"Alright, I'll have him pick you up there within the next hour," Dean muttered, sadness filling his tone at the thought that he hadn't been able to hear his little brother's voice one more time before he died. "An' when he does, I need you to g-give him my . . . my amulet."

"Gotcha, Dean . . . ummm . . . thanks," Jax hesitated for a moment, before he finally uttered, "I can save you, Dean. I mean, if Sam knew you were dyin', an' I did nothin' . . . ." his voice trailed off abruptly.

"J-jus' get my amulet back to me, an' y-you've saved me," Dean reassured, then snapped the cell shut before the younger man could say anything further.

Another wave of dizziness overwhelmed Dean as the coppery taste of blood filled his mouth, staining his teeth and lips crimson. Wiping the back of his trembling hand across his mouth, he looked to where he thought Jason might be standing and uttered in a low weak tone, "N-need ya . . . need ta g-get m-me inside ta . . . ." Dean bit down hard on his lower lip as more racking pain ravaged his body. "Ge' B-Bob-by." Squeezing his eyes tightly shut, Dean buried his head in his arms, and screamed out over and over again until blessed darkness found him.


	12. Chapter 12

Sorry about the delay, family issues have taken most of my time as of late. thanks for reading and for the awesome reviews!!

_Chapter Twelve_

With one arm wrapped firmly around Dean's waist, Jason pounded on the front door of Rowan's cabin with the other hand. When no one immediately responded, he slammed his fist even harder against the door frame. "Come on, open the damn door," he shouted as he glanced down and saw blood splattering on the ground beside Dean.

Heart hammering away inside his chest, Jason set Dean gently on the steps, moved back and slammed his foot into the door, splintering the frame, and knocking the door wide open. Taking the injured man in his arms again, he carried him into the house just as a younger man came running down from upstairs.

"Jason, what the hell are you doing here?" The dark-haired man asked as he eyed Dean. "An' who's that?"

"When someone's knockin' really hard on your damn door next time, that means get your ass movin' to answer it," Jason growled as he glared at Rowan's son Collin.

"I was jus' getting in the shower when you knocked," Collin tried to explain, but Jason was no longer listening as he noticed Joshua standing on the upstairs landing.

An older gentleman wearing a trucker's cap stood directly behind him with his hand resting protectively on the little boy's shoulder to keep him from moving toward Jason. Although Jason had never met the elderly man before, he had seen enough pictures of him to know his name was Bobby Singer and that he was a hunter.

"Joshua," Jason murmured, and a genuine smile lit across his features. As always when he was in the presence of the special child, a feeling of hope and peace surged through him. But the feeling faded all too quickly as Bobby moved to stand in front of Joshua, effectively blocking Jason's view of him. In that moment, Jason noticed for the first time that the older hunter had a gun trained on his heart.

"What'd you do to Dean?" Bobby growled as he took a step down the stairs, never taking his eyes off the younger man. "An' where's Rowan?"

"This is Dean?" Collin asked in stunned disbelief. He then glanced toward the door, expecting to see his father walk through it at any given moment. After several very long moments, he dragged his gaze back to Dean, and released the pent breath he hadn't realized he was holding. "So where's my Dad . . . that sonuvabitch's not coming, is he?" he asked, trying his damnedest to keep the disappointment from his tone.

"Oh no, he's here," Jason assured, a ghost of a smile crossing his face as he set Dean on the couch. He had only met Collin a few times before because the younger man was friends with Jamie, but it had been enough for Jason to determine that he definitely did not like the youngest St. Christen. Rowan had made sure his only child had never lacked for any of the finer things in life, and yet the over-privileged man still wanted more. In many ways, Collin reminded Jason of his younger brother Ethan, and for that reason alone, he had never tried to become friends with him.

Jason smirked, knowing the younger man had never seen his father before and was in for the surprise of his life. He hitched a thumb back toward the door, and couldn't resist adding, "He's out in my car right now, maybe you should go an' bring him in. Hell, I'll even give ya a hand before I have to get going."

"He – he's hurt?" Collin mumbled, a look of concern briefly flitted across his features before he masked it with a smile. "Tell him he's not welcome here . . . an' if he's hurt it serves him right, so you can jus' drive him to a hospital or dump him off somewhere. I don't care which, jus' make sure he's gone in the next five minutes."

"H-He probably would," came a shaky voice behind Jason, and Collin glanced around him to see a raven-haired man leaning against the door frame. Deep green eyes met and held Collin's stunned gaze. "B-but as I pay his salary, I'm thinkin' he's smart enough to decide against doing that."

"Who the hell are you?" Collin asked, immediately noticing the similarities between the older man and himself. They both had the same hawkish features, and raven black hair. Although his eyes were a deep shade of green while Collin's were more of a bluish-green, they both were shaped exactly the same. They both had a lean, muscular builds, and as the older man brushed his hand through his unruly, long hair, Collin noticed that even their hands were similar in appearance. But the man standing in the doorway couldn't be his father. This man looked as if he was only about four to five years older than Collin. "If you work for my Dad, you can – "

"Collin, I am your father," Rowan let out a weak chuckle as he shifted nervously on his feet. "Damn, that came out soundin' like when Darth tells Luke he's his father."

"It really kinda did," Jason chuckled as his gaze passed between Collin and Rowan, waiting for the younger man to say something. "Wait until he tells ya the really good part, Collin," he couldn't resist taunting, knowing that Collin was in for the shock of his life.

"D-don't you have somewhere to be, Jason?" Rowan coughed hard, clutching at his chest as an odd empty feeling coursed its way through his body. Although he could hear the steady thrumming of his own heart, he felt almost dead inside. And whether it was because he had come back from the dead faster than he normally would have, or if Dean taking his heart had caused it, Rowan now felt a strange hollowness inside his chest.

"Naww . . . I got a few minutes." Jason crossed his arms in an openly defiant gesture. "An' I'd really love to see how Collin takes the news. It's like one of those Jerry Springer moments . . . the big reveal, followed by the huge-assed brawl."

"Rowan," Bobby called out to him as he headed down the stairs with Joshua following close behind. "What happened to Dean?"

"He had a run-in with the big bad, an' lost." Rowan swayed on his feet as he took a few steps into his house.

"The big bad is Lucifer," Jason said as he turned to look at Collin, "in case you're wonderin'." At the clear look of disbelief etched across the younger man's features, he added, "It really is like playin' catch up on a lifetime's worth of lies in less than five minutes, isn't it, Collin." He clapped the bewildered man on the back as another chuckle slipped past his lips. "Your Dad," he gestured toward Rowan, "well, he's sort of a demon's bitch toy, although he likes to parade himself around as being a good guy. An' Dean," he swung to point at the eldest Winchester, "he's your father's newest little plaything. Guess he figures if he can make Dean believe he's changed then maybe he has a chance to redeem himself in the eyes of all who matter most."

"Think that's about enough," Rowan hissed in a low voice as he took a few steps in Jason's direction. "Cause if I really am some demon's bitch toy, do you really wanna press your luck on the odd chance that I won't snap your scrawny neck, an' suck your blood till you're bone dry?" Almost unconsciously, Rowan's fangs bit through his gums as a guttural growl erupted from somewhere deep within him.

Collin's eyes rounded in fear as he backed away from the man who claimed to be his father. The man's pupils had narrowed and elongated to take on the look of a serpent's eyes as they gleamed an intense shade of fiery green. "Y-you're a . . . ." he gulped, swallowing back his growing fears, "I mean, you're a . . . ." his voice trailed off, not sure he actually believed what he was seeing.

"Sonuvabitch," Rowan cursed under his breath as he turned his back on his son, and pressed his eyes closed, silently willing his fangs to detract back into his gums. "Jason, leave my house now," he breathed, trying to gain control over his temper. "Bobby, take care of Dean . . . while I take my son outside to have a word with him in private."

"I'm not going anywhere with you," Collin hissed as he backed even further away from Rowan. "You're a goddamn vampire."

"Collin, he's not gonna hurt you," Bobby said as he knelt beside Dean and began accessing his condition.

"Naw, you he'd never hurt," Jason reluctantly admitted as he slipped past Rowan and headed toward the door, calling back over his shoulder, "You're his freakin' pride an' joy, an' I'm sure he'd kill just about anyone to keep you safe." The former Guardian paused at the entrance and glanced back at Joshua one last time, then shifted his gaze to Dean, and a worried frown creased his brow. "Not sure it even matters now, but I'll bring his amulet back to him as soon as I get a hold of it." With that said, he strode out of the house.

"I don't care if you'd hurt me or not," Collin stalked to Rowan and looked him square in the eye, "Cause you're not my father, an' nothing you say can make me believe otherwise." For a moment longer he stared at the vampire that looked so similar to him, then roughly pushed him out of the way and stormed out of the house.

"Well, that went better than I'd expected." Rowan heaved a sigh as he pushed his shaggy bangs out of his eyes then lowered his head so Bobby wouldn't see how badly Collin's last words had hurt him. "I-I'm gonna go an' get cleaned up." he gestured toward the second floor then yanked on his blood stained, tattered shirt. "Probably should've thought of doing that before I barged in here to meet my son." As he trudged up the stairs, he called back to Bobby, "I want ya to come an' get me right away if Dean gets any worse.

After sparing one last glance in Dean's direction, Rowan retreated into the privacy of his room. With a deep, weary sigh he sunk down on to the bed and scrubbed a hand across his face. _I shouldn't have come back here. What the hell was I thinking? There was no way in hell he was ever gonna accept me as his father._

As Rowan eased his torn shirt over his shoulders he winced as searing pain rippled across his back. Squeezing his eyelids closed, he breathed in deep then forcefully expelled the air through gritted teeth. Tears slid down his cheeks as he felt the wounds left behind by Lucifer's whip split wide open and begin to bleed again.

Rowan slowly pushed himself off the bed and went to stand in front of the mirror. Pivoting on his heel, he turned his back on his reflection, and glanced over his shoulder at the jagged, trailing wounds. Most of the deep cuts were rimmed with dirt, inflamed and obviously infected.

"Sonuvabitch," Rowan hissed as he gingerly touched the wounds he could each with his fingertips. "These should be gone by now . . . why the hell aren't they gone?"

"Rowan, Dean . . . ." Bobby called out from the doorway, startling Rowan, but the older hunter stopped short and drew in a sharp breath when he apparently noticed all the deep, bleeding welts on Rowan's back. "Damn it, what happened to you?"

Rowan swung around so abruptly, he momentarily lost his balance and had to grab hold of the dresser to steady himself. "It's nothin'," he muttered through clenched teeth, fighting back the bile rising from the pit of his stomach. "How's Dean?"

"He's awake, an' askin for ya." Bobby turned to leave, and for moment it looked as if he was going to let the matter of Rowan's injured back go, but then he hesitated with his hand on the door frame. "Those cuts look infected . . . does Dean know about them?"

"No, he doesn't, an' you're not gonna tell him either. Understand?" Rowan pinned the older man with a stare that would have made most men back down, but Bobby obviously wasn't most men, and stood his ground.

"Well, if yer not gonna tell him, then let me at least clean 'em up for ya. Then I'll decide what I tell Dean an' what I don't."

"I don't need your help, Bobby, I'm fine. I'm not dying like Dean is so save your mother henning for him."

"Boy, you an' Dean are way too much alike." Bobby heaved a heavy sigh as he shook his head. "Neither one of you will ever admit that you're hurtin' till it's almost too late to do anything about it."

"I'm not like Dean," Rowan adamantly denied, snatching a clean shirt out of his dresser. "I'm not even remotely close to being like him. Hell, I'm damned for all eternity cause of what I did, so that makes me about as far away from being like Dean as I could possibly get."

"Well, that may be true," Bobby conceded with a slight frown, "but I know he thinks pretty highly of you. Hell, you were the first person he called out to when he came around, an' that's gotta mean something."

"Yeah, it probably means he's delirious." Rowan let out a wry chuckle. He was about to say something more, but the words died on his lips as Joshua bolted into the room, brushed past Bobby and rushed into Rowan's arms. "What's wrong, Josh?" he asked as he scooped up the little boy in his arms and cradled him to his chest.

"The Chipmunk's cryin'," Joshua sobbed as he wrapped his arms around Rowan's neck and buried his face in the vampire's hair. "Want him ta stop cryin', Uncle Rowan . . . please make him stop."

"Sonuva . . . ." Rowan cradled Joshua even closer to him as he ran a hand through the boy's tousled hair. "Shhh . . . it's gonna be okay, Josh," he tried to soothe although his heart was hammering so painfully hard against his chest he was certain Joshua would hear it and realize he was lying. "I'm gonna go take care of Dean," he said as he handed the little boy over to Bobby, "You stay here with Bobby, okay?"

"'Kay . . . make him stop hurtin' . . . don't like the Chipmunk hurtin'." Tears slipped down Joshua's cheeks as he eyed Rowan for a moment longer and then shifted his position to wrap his arms around Bobby.

"Bobby, jus' keep him here so he doesn't have ta see . . . just keep him here." Once again, he gently brushed his hand through Joshua's hair, and then let his hand fall away. "I promise, I'll do everything that's in my power to do to help him," Rowan vowed as he headed out the door.

Even from the upstairs hallway, Rowan could hear Dean's pain-filled sobs as the younger vampire called out to him, begging him to help him. With his heart lodged firmly in his throat, Rowan took the steps two at a time, and rushed into the living room. For the briefest of moments, he hesitated as he watched the young hunter writhe around on the couch. Sweat streamed from every pore of Dean's body, soaking his clothing. Blood dripped from his lips and eyes as he sobbed.

"Oh, God, Dean. I'm so sorry," Rowan breathed as he quickly closed the gap between them, and gathered the dying man in his arms. "I gotcha, Dean . . . I gotcha."

"H-hurs . . . Row . . . gguhhh . . . hurs s-so damn much." Dean squeezed his eyes closed as he gripped a tight hold of Rowan's shirt. "M-ma . . . m-make it s-stop."

"I-I don't know what to do . . . I can't make it stop," he uttered helplessly as he pulled the trembling vampire into a firmer embrace.

"W-wanna s-see Sammy . . . w-wanna tell him . . . ." Whatever Dean was going to say was abruptly cut short as a scream ripped from his lips. Over and over, he cried out as he convulsed, muscles spasming as he shook violently.

"Damn it, don't you give up, Dean!" Rowan's voice was thickly tainted with heartbroken emotion as he barked the order. "I'm not about to let you die on me now . . . Sam needs you. Joshua needs you . . . hell, I need ya around, so damn it you fight with all you're worth cause you're not dying here today."

"T-tryin' . . . ." Fear and pain registered in Dean's red-rimmed glassy eyes as more bloody tears cascaded down his cheeks. "Jus' h-hurs s-so damn much."

"I know it does . . . God, I know it does, but you gotta hold on for me."

At the sound of his phone ringing, Rowan hastily yanked it out of his pocket. Praying for all he was worth that it was Jason saying that he had Dean's amulet, he jabbed the button after the first ring. "Talk to me," Rowan uttered in a strained voice.

"Rowan we've got a problem," came Jason's voice over the line, and then Rowan heard him draw in a deep breath as he fell silent.

"Tell me something I don't know."

"No, I mean, Jax, he lost it…he lost the amul—"

"Unless you could break the sound barrier gettin' here," Rowan began with a mirthless chuckle. "It's not…not gonna matter m-much anyway…J-jus' make sure he gets to B-Becca…C-can't lose two guard—"

"What's gonna happen to Joshua?" Jason interrupted. "I mean…does he get another guardian now?"

"Jus' take care of Becca an' let me worry 'bout…." Rowan's voice trailed off as Dean screamed out again before going deathly still. "I gotta go," he yelled into the phone then slammed it shut and threw it aside.

"Come on, Dean . . . damn it, don't ya do this to me!"

Rowan shook his friend, vainly trying to rouse him, to no avail. Blood dripped from the young hunter's ears to snake a trail down his neck and seeped into his flannel shirt. More trails of crimson leaked from his mouth, nose and eyes to pool around both sides of his face. All too quickly the trickling lifeblood subsided to nothingness, and sheer panic over took Rowan as he knew his best friend was hovering near death if not already there. Lowering his head to Dean's chest he listened, but couldn't detect a heartbeat. Then he pressed his fingers against the side of Dean's throat to try and find a pulse, but once again he found nothing.

"Not gonna let you die, Dean. I'm jus' not . . . ." Grabbing Dean by under his armpits, Rowan dragged him to the ground, and not knowing what else to do, he tilted Dean's neck back, pinched his nose, and quickly cleared out his mouth, before sealing his mouth over the younger man's and blowing air into his lungs.

"Bobby! I need you now!" He hollered as he began compressions, all-the-while knowing his attempts to save Dean would be futile. From a lifetime's worth of experience he instinctively knew the young vampire didn't need to breathe to live, but that didn't stop him from trying. "Bobby, get your ass down here," he yelled again, although he already heard the older hunter racing down the stairs.

Bobby dropped down beside Dean as Rowan finished with the first round of compressions, and took over for him as Rowan resumed mouth to mouth breathing. For the longest time, they worked in silent, perfect precision trying to revive Dean. Sweat beaded on both mens' brows and dripped from the napes of their necks as they took turns giving compressions to inhalations, but their stalwart efforts were all in vain.

"H-he's gone, Rowan," Bobby uttered breathlessly, tears shimmering in his sorrowful brown eyes. "You have to stop." He tried to pull Rowan away from Dean, but the vampire roughly shoved him out of the way and continued onward.

"No. He can't die like this." Rowan gave a firm shake of his head as he laced his fingers and pressed against Dean's chest. "He has a job to do . . . if he dies now he goes to Hell, an' I'm not about to let that happen to him."

"I know ya wanna save him, but you jus' can't." Bobby once again took hold of Rowan and gently pulled him away from Dean, and this time Rowan hung his head in defeat and did not put forth the slightest resistance.

With head bowed in prayer, Rowan muttered, "Usquequo, Domine, oblivisceris me in finem?usquequo avertis faciem tuam a me? quamdiu ponam consilia in anima mea; dolorem in corde meo per diem? usquequo exaltabitur inimicus meus super me? Respice, et exaudi me, Domine Deus meus. Illumina oculos meos, ne umquam obdormiam in morte; nequando dicat inimicus meus: Prævalui adversus eum. Qui tribulant me exsultabunt si motus fuero; ego autem in misericordia tua speravi."Slowly, Rowan pushed himself to his feet and turned his back on Bobby and Dean's lifeless body. Tears cascaded unchecked as he uttered, "He was supposed to be the one. I know it in my heart he was . . . they wouldn't have tested me like they did otherwise . . . an' now I'm suppose to just go on alone again." He swung back to glare at Dean, and more tears slipped down his cheeks unnoticed as anger flared inside him. "You were suppose to save me, Dean. I trusted you . . . I protected you . . . believed in you, an' you let me down."

Rowan glanced up and noticed for the first time that Joshua was standing on the stairs, and he had witnessed their failed attempt to save Dean's life. Trudging over to the little boy, he gathered Joshua into his arms and looked him squarely in the eyes. "I'm so sorry, Josh. I tried . . . I really tried. It jus' . . . we have ta go . . . I-I have to find you a new Guardian."

He was just about to carry Joshua upstairs to get their belongings when a brilliant flash of golden light stopped him in his tracks.

"O ye of little faith," a familiar voice called out from behind him, and he swung to look at Bobby.

"Uriel?"


	13. Chapter 13

Thanks for reading and for the awesome reviews!! bambers;)

_Chapter Thirteen_

"You seem somewhat surprised, Rowan." Bobby uttered, although his voice sounded nothing like the older hunter's normal tone. He chuckled. "You think that God would not have foreseen the inevitability of this day?"

"I don't know what you mean?" Setting Joshua down, Rowan moved to stand protectively in front of him. "You sonuvabitch," he snarled as realization dawned on him. "You knew Dean was gonna die, an' yet you still chose him to be Joshua's Guardian anyway."

"Watch your tone with me, boy, I've been looking after Dean a helluva lot longer than you have."

"An' yet you still stood aside an' let him die." Rowan took a step closer to the archangel. "You could've done something to save him. You should've done something."

An unearthly golden glow surrounded Bobby as his eyes gleamed an intense shade of blue. "It wasn't my place to help him. I leave that to His will."

Rowan quirked a brow as he took a few more cautious steps toward the archangel. "So how long have you been possessing Bobby? Just got here or have ya been lying to Dean all along?"

"I've always been here, Rowan, although after some time I forgot who I really was. But when Dean died I awoke."

"So there never really was a Bobby Singer?" Rowan asked, clear disbelief in his tone.

"Sure there was, I've got a driver's license with his name on it an' everything." Uriel chuckled as he knelt beside Dean and ghosted his hand down the length of the dead man's body. "We have work to do, Rowan," Uriel uttered as he slid his fingertips over Dean's face and closed the young man's eyes. "Belial is on the move. When I awoke, he did as well. He will be searching out Lucifer, and then he will come after Joshua with a vengeance."

"What about Dean? You have to help him."

"That's not for me to do, Rowan." Uriel lightly pressed two fingers against Dean's forehead, and Rowan noticed a brief flash of light emanating from his hand before it died away. "But I thought you would have figured that much out by yourself." The angel looked beyond Rowan to where Joshua was standing, then his crystal blue-eyed gaze shifted back to Rowan.

"Joshua?"

"Of course, Joshua," Uriel said as he gestured for the little boy to come forward. "Anything Jax can do, Joshua can do as well. Only he can do it with a little more flare, can't you, Josh?" Joshua brushed passed Rowan to rush into Bobby's outstretched arms. The archangel lean in and whispered something in the boy's ear, and Joshua nodded in understanding. "I'd stand back if I were you, Rowan, this might get a little intense," Uriel warned, and Rowan reluctantly complied.

Joshua bowed his head and raised his hands high in the air. His head suddenly snapped back up, eyes opening wide to radiate a light so intensely brilliant that it momentarily blinded Rowan, and he was forced to shield his eyes and move further away from Dean. Through veiled eyes, Rowan watched as Dean's body was lifted off the floor to hover just below Joshua's hands. The little boy lightly trailed his fingers down Dean's forehead to his chest, and then moved them to touch both shoulders, completing the four stations of the cross.

Leaning over Dean's face, Joshua puckered his lips, and softly blew air into the fallen hunter's mouth. Dean abruptly gasped and jerked upward as his lungs expanded with life giving oxygen. Not yet finished, the little boy rubbed his hands together until they gleamed with fiery light, then glanced up at Uriel and smiled when the archangel winked and grinned approvingly. Returning his full attention to Dean, he lightly ghosted his fingertips down the length of Dean's lean frame, causing him to shiver violently.

"I don't want ya ta die, Chipmunk," Joshua whispered in Dean's ear, bringing a weary smile to the hunter's ashen face. "So ya gotta wake up fer me."

"Not plannin' on leavin' ya, Jay," came a raspy whisper from Dean, and Rowan's heart caught in his throat as he hurried to his friend's side. Dean lifted a hand and tousled Joshua's hair. "Mind puttin' me down, kiddo, feels more than just a bit awkward floatin' here with Rowan hoverin' over the top of me." He chuckled weakly then grinned at his best friend.

Rowan rolled his eyes. "Drop him on his ass, Josh, would serve him right for scarin' the hell out of me."

Joshua once again lifted his hands in the air and then slowly lowered them, and Dean gently floated to the ground. The shaggy-haired boy leapt into Dean's open arms and hugged him. "Missed ya, Chipmunk," he gushed as he hugged Dean even tighter. "Da Grizzly was grouchy, an' wouldn't watch Spongebob with me."

"Well, that's cause Bobby doesn't know good television when he sees it." Dean chuckled as he pushed himself into a sitting position. He glanced in Bobby direction and smiled. "How ya doin', Bobby?"

"Doin' as well as can be expected, seein' that you left me with Eddy Munster while you two girls took yer sweet time gettin' back here." Bobby cast a look of warning in Rowan's direction that wasn't lost on Dean, but he decided to let it slide for the moment.

"So, how are ya feelin', Dean?" Rowan asked, apparently ignoring Bobby's warning glance as well.

"I'm a little hungry," Dean paused and hesitated just long enough to let Rowan know that although Joshua had cured him of his sickness, he was still a vampire. "An' things are still kinda blurry as all hell, but otherwise I'm good."

"I can fix ya somethin' to eat," Bobby offered, but Dean quickly shook his head.

"Naww . . . that's okay. I'll wait till later an' catch a bite to eat with Rowan," he replied evasively, praying that Bobby would let the matter drop. "I'm jus' kinda tired, think I might go take a shower an' then crash for a while." Dean gently pried Joshua's arms away from his neck, and set the little boy aside. "Jay, when I wake up, I promise we'll have a Spongebob marathon. Jus' make sure Uncle Rowan goes out an' rents every episode, an' I'll make sure he watches them with us, 'kay?"

"'Kay, Chipmunk," Joshua nodded his head vigorously, and then looked to Rowan. "I go with you to the store, Uncle Rowan?"

"Spongebob, Dean?" Rowan heaved a groan. "You can't be serious?"

"Oh, I'm very serious, Rowan." Dean smirked as he slowly got to his feet, and wavered slightly as a wave of dizziness crashed down on him. Luckily, Rowan grabbed hold of his arm as his knees buckled or he would have fallen face first to the floor. "Maybe I'll skip the shower, an' just get some sleep," he muttered, suddenly feeling nauseous. "Jus' not f-feelin' great at the moment."

"Well, seein' as you were dead only five minutes ago, I'm really not all that surprised." Rowan glanced in Bobby's direction and then nudged his head toward the stairs. "Let's get him upstairs . . . he can have my room."

Rowan and Bobby guided Dean upstairs, helped him into bed, and pulled off his boots. The young hunter was out cold even before Bobby placed the blankets over him.

"Is he really gonna be okay, Uriel," Rowan asked, dropping the pretense that the archangel was Bobby now that Dean was asleep.

"Yeah, he'll be fine. He's just real tired . . . guess you could call it death sickness. In a couple of days he should be fine. An' it'll probably take another week or so for his vision to clear."

"Why don't you jus' tell him who you really are?" Rowan asked as they quietly slipped out of the room.

"Cause if he knows I've been lyin' to him all this time, he won't trust me, an' that's not something I'm willing to risk at the moment."

"I see." Rowan gave a curt nod. "Then you keep quiet about my back an' what happened when I died, an' I'll keep your secret for now. Is it a deal?"

"Archangels don't make deals, Rowan." Uriel chuckled at the absurdity of what Rowan had suggested. "We don't need to. You'll do what I said because I told you to do it, an' I'll do whatever I think is necessary to see that God's will is accomplished." With that said, he strode down the stairs, leaving Rowan to wonder what he had meant by his cryptic comment.

XxXxXxXxXxX

"Bobby," Dean mumbled as his eyes fluttered open and he saw the blurred image of the older man sitting beside his bed. He rubbed his eyes, trying to clear his vision, but still couldn't see his friend any better. "What time is it?"

"About three in the morning." Bobby grinned as he nudged his head toward the leather couch against the wall. "You've been pretty out of it for almost four days now. An' when we couldn't wake ya this morning, yer vampy friend decided ta camp out in here so if ya woke up sick he'd be around to help ya. Course, he's sound asleep, so I'm really not sure what good he's doin' ya."

"Four days? Where's Joshua . . . is he alright?"

"He's okay. He's sleepin' right now." Bobby fell silent for a moment as he glanced back in Rowan's direction, and slowly shook his head as a heavy sigh slipped from his lips. "What happened to him when you guys were comin' here, Dean?"

"What are ya talkin about?" Dean raised a brow in confusion as he followed Bobby gaze to where his friend lay sleeping. Although Rowan was asleep, every time he shifted on the couch a pain-filled moan escaped him.

"His back was torn all to hell . . . I swear I've never seen anything like it before." Bobby ran a hand over his beard as he sighed again. "An' from what I could tell, some of the cuts were still bleedin' an' others were pretty badly infected."

"I don't know what happened to him." Dean raked a hand through his hair as he tried to figure out when Rowan might have been injured, but the only time he hadn't been with the older vampire was when he had buried him. Suddenly he recalled that after they had unearthed Rowan, he had jerked away from Dean as if in horrible pain when Dean had touched his back. "Damn it," he cursed under his breath, "I buried him, an' they hurt him."

"Who hurt him?" Bobby quirked a puzzled brow.

"Angels . . . demons, take your pick cause it had to be one of them."

"Why would an' angel hurt him?"

"Michael likes to call it a Crucible Creed . . . some lesson he's suppose to learn that'll eventually make him a more godly man if he can ever figure the damn thing out." Dean abruptly fell silent as he realized he was treading very close to telling the older hunter that he was a vampire.

"So what are ya gonna do about it?"

"The first thing I'm gonna do is wake Rowan up an' kick his ass for not tellin' me about it. Then when I'm finished doin' that, I'll fix him up jus' like I'd do with Sam."

"Alright." Bobby chuckled as he got to his feet and headed for the door. "But keep it down, I don't want you wakin' Joshua."

The moment Bobby had left the room, Dean threw off his blankets and slipped out of bed. Lumbering over to the couch, he roughly nudged Rowan awake.

"Dean," Rowan muttered as he blinked several times to adjust his eyes to the dim light coming from outside the partially open door. With more effort than it should have taken him, Rowan pushed himself into a sitting position and stretched his muscles. "You okay?"

"Just peachy." Dean scowled as he snaked out a hand and slapped Rowan on the back causing the vampire to cry out in pain. "An' apparently I'm doin' a helluva lot better than you are at the moment."

Squeezing his eyes shut, Rowan winced as stark pain rippled down the length of his back. "I–I take it Bobby told ya." He tried to grin, but another wave of pain crashed down on him, and he cried out again.

"Why didn't you jus' tell me?" Dean couldn't keep the hurt from his tone. "I thought we were friends?"

"This has nothin' to do with us bein' friends, Dean," Rowan argued, his voice rising in anger. "In fact it has nothin' to do with you at all. So go back to bed an' leave me the hell alone."

"The hell it doesn't." Dean reached over and flipped on the lamp so he could take a look at Rowan's injuries. "I buried you thinkin' you were dead, an' they hurt you . . . so something tells me it has a whole helluva lot to do with me."

"I'm not gonna discuss this with you, so you might as well let it drop."

"What you don't trust me?" Dean asked incredulously. After all they had gone through together, he had automatically assumed that the older vampire trusted him, and it gnawed at his insides that he was completely wrong on the matter. "I can trust you with my damn life, but you can't even trust me enough to tell me you're in pain?"

"It's not like that, Dean," Rowan lowered his voice, "There are jus' some things I'm never gonna tell ya, an' this just happens to be one of them."

"Why?" was all Dean could think to say.

Rowan was silent for the longest time as he met and held Dean's gaze, and then he finally uttered, "I dunno." He shrugged. "It's like we have this undeniable bond . . . you drink my blood, I drink yours." He chuckled weakly, but his laughter died on his lips when Dean's frown deepened. "An' I can see what you're feelin' and thinkin' most of the time," he went on to say before he lost his nerve, "an' that scares the hell out of me cause the truth of it is that we're not supposed to be friends. You're a hunter an' I'm nothin' more than the lowliest of prey. An' there's gonna come a point in time when you remember that, an' I'd rather you finish this thinkin' what you did was right."

Too physically drained to argue or try to decipher what his friend was talking about, Dean just heaved an exasperated groan. "Jus' take off your shirt."

Rowan raised a brow, clear amusement written across his features. "Well, that's a bit awkward, but if you insist." He broke out in riotous laughter as Dean blushed a profuse shade of red.

"Don't be an ass, Rowan," Dean grumbled, "I just wanna check your back."

"Seriously, I'm okay, Dean. It's just a few little cuts, an' they're almost healed already."

"Well, seein' as they should've healed over almost instantaneously, I'm pretty much thinkin' I'm gonna take a look anyway."

"You're gonna make a big deal out of this, aren't you?" Rowan huffed as he shrugged out of his flannel shirt, but hesitated at the thought of yanking off his t-shirt as he could feel that the soft cotton had adhered to the numerous seeping wounds on his back.

"Yeah, I'm channeling my inner Sammy." Dean smirked, but it faded to a worried frown as Rowan struggled to pull off his t-shirt. The young hunter sucked in a breath, his eyes widening in shock as he surveyed all the damage that had been done to his best friend's flesh. Deep, slashing wounds littered Rowan's entire back, and most of them were still bleeding or badly infected. "Damn it, Rowan, what the hell's wrong with you. I mean, I know you have a freakin' death wish, but I didn't think you cared so little about yourself that you'd purposely make yourself sick."

"I'm not sick, Dean, I'm jus' real tired of livin'," Rowan admitted, not able to meet his friend's questioning gaze. "An' then I got a glimpse of what death would be like for me, an' ya know what? I'm never gonna be at peace, so I figure what's the point."

"The point is that you're my family," Dean growled as he stalked to his duffel and retrieved the first aid kit. "You're in my blood an' a part of me . . . hell, the truth is I've probably got more of your blood in me at the moment than my own. An' maybe you're not my brother like Sammy is, but you're my family none the less . . . an' nothin' is more important to me than my family. Nothing. So whether you like it or not, I'm not about to let you die."

"You can't stop me, Dean," Rowan uttered with a firm shake of his head. "When Joshua's safe, an' you're free from your deal, I'll do what I have to do to make sure I stay dead. An' if it means makin' my body so damn weak, I can't sustain life any longer then that's what I'll do."

"Yeah, well, we'll just see about that won't we."


	14. Chapter 14

I'd thought this would be the last chapter, but it got rather long and so I divided it up. lol...for those who are gonna be like wtf when they start reading the first part, I couldn't very well mention Belial in the last chapter and not have him make an appearance. Thanks for reading and for the awesome reviews!! bambers;)

_Chapter Fourteen_

Ethan Daniels knocked on the front door of his parent's home, and then leaned back against the railing to wait for someone to answer. Within a few moments, a pretty brunette woman in her mid-thirties opened the door, and smiled when she recognized him.

"Ethan. What a nice surprise." She wrapped her arms around him and gave him a quick hug. "You're parents didn't mention you'd be home this weekend."

"Yeah, I'm just full of surprises." Ethan grinned, and lowered his head as his eyes briefly shifted from deep blue to fiery green. "So can I come inside, Maria?" He cast his most beguiling smile in her direction as she moved aside and allowed him to enter. "Where are my parents? Are they home?" he asked as he took a quick glance around, and didn't see them anywhere.

"They're both upstairs getting dressed," Maria said, gesturing toward the spiraling staircase before taking Ethan's suitcase from him. "They're having a party tonight."

"Huh, I was wondering why you would be here on a Saturday." He purposefully crowded her into the corner of the room, leaving no room for escape. "Course if dear ol' Dad had his way, I'm pretty sure you'd be around a lot more than you are," he uttered, clear accusation in his tone as he moved even closer to her. Lightly trailing his fingertips along the length of her jaw, he then brushed his hand through her wavy dark hair. "Not that I mind . . . just wanted you to know that I know what you an' Daddy do when Mommy isn't around." He chuckled.

"I-I don't know what you're talkin' about," she stammered as she butted up against the wall, and dropped his suitcase.

"Oh, sure you do." He smirked, placing his hands against the wall on either side of her. Leaning closer so their faces were nearly touching, he breathed in deeply. "I can smell him on you. Really quite intoxicating actually."

"E-Ethan . . . are – are you alright?" Maria tried to duck beneath his arms, but he pressed himself against her, pinning her to the wall. "You – you're scarin' me. Please let me go."

He glanced over his shoulder toward the staircase, and then snapped his head back to look at her. "You think my Mom knows about Daddy's little kink, leather whip fetish?" He laugh mercilessly as he wrapped a hand around her throat and lifted her off the ground. His eyes once again shifted to fiery green. "Hmmm . . . probably not or else why would he need you."

"Ethan . . . l-let me go," Maria managed to choke out, and when he failed to do so, she tried to scream, but he tightened his grip around her throat, cutting off her cries for help.

"I'm afraid Ethan's no longer here, Maria," he uttered with a shake of his head.

"Wh-who are you," she uttered in a breathy whisper, eyes widening in fear and horror.

"Some refer to me as Belial." His hand tightened even more as he dug his nails into her throat. "While others only know me as the Antichrist." With that said, he snapped Maria's neck and callously tossed her aside.

Stepping over her lifeless body, he headed up the stairs to find his parents. "Mom . . . Dad, I'm home." he called out from the upstairs landing, and hesitated to glance around at all the family portraits hanging on the walls. His steady gaze lingered on a picture of his brother Jason for a moment before he moved on to look at his parent's graduation pictures from Harvard Law School. As he studied them closer, he smiled, thinking of how far they had fallen from their lofty goals of helping those in need. Greed and lust had inundated their precious lives, and they had carelessly cast aside the one person who could have saved their miserable lives.

"Ethan," his mother called out from her bedroom doorway. Lightly brushing her fingertips through her short blond curls, she tucked her hair behind her ears, and then fixed her diamond earring. "I thought you weren't coming home for a few weeks yet."

"I missed you, Mother." He sauntered to her and kissed her on the cheek. "Where's Dad? I have some news I want to share with the both of you."

"Hey there, Champ," his father said as he strolled out of the bedroom, "How's school going?"

"Not bad." He smirked, recalling all the burnt carnage he had left behind. "There was a tiny fire in the dorms . . . so I thought it was the perfect time to come home an' see you guys."

"Really? Was anyone hurt?" His mother took hold of both of his hands and stretched them outward as she searched for any apparent injuries, and not finding any, she wrapped her arm around him in a comforting manner.

"A couple of people got a little burnt, but I've seen worse."

"Well, that's good, dear." His mother pat him on the shoulder. "I'm glad no one was seriously injured."

"Knowing you, son, you were probably right there to help those poor people out." His father beamed.

"What can I say, Dad, I'm a regular saint some times." Ethan nearly gagged at his parents pathetic attempt at playing at the perfect family. "Have you heard anything from Jason lately," he said guiding the conversation toward his brother. "I haven't seen or heard from in so long an' really need to get in touch with him. So do you have any idea where he is?"

"You know we haven't spoken to him since he stole your college tuition an' gambled it away." His mother frowned as she turned her back on him, headed back into her room and took at seat at her vanity table.

His father followed close behind her, calling back over his shoulder, "I know you wanna believe he's changed, son." He strode to the mirror and nervously readjusted his tie, obviously uncomfortable with talking about his eldest son. "But Jason's never cared about anyone but himself, an' you're just setting yourself up for a world of hurt if you try and see him again."

"I don't know about that, Dad." Ethan's eyes glimmered an intense shade of green as he scowled. "You see, it's really important that I find him."

"I'm sorry, honey, we really don't know where he is," his mother interjected, pausing for a moment as she applied her lipstick. "You know your brother, if he doesn't wanna be found, we're not gonna find him."

"Well, that's too bad." Ethan chuckled. "You really should've tried to find him while you had the chance, Bitch." He took a menacing step toward his mother. "He was the only really good thing the two of you ever did, an' you screwed it up royally."

"Ethan," his father snapped, "don't you dare talk – "

"Shut the hell up, old man," Ethan hissed, abruptly cutting his dad off. With a flick of Ethan's wrist, his father was thrown backward into the wall, and pinned there by an unseen force. Ethan slowly raised his hand and his father slid up the wall toward the ceiling. "I'll be with you in a moment," he uttered dismissively as he sauntered toward his mother.

Terrified blue eyes met and held his fiery green ones briefly before she pushed herself out of the chair and slowly backed away from him. "E-Ethan, what's wrong with you? Why . . . how are you doing this?"

Ethan backed her into the corner, leaned in and sniffed her scent, shivering with anticipation when he caught the aroma of fear radiating from her. "You know," he began, pausing to run his tongue over her chin and lips, reveling in the fear he tasted there, "Not only those who sell their souls go to Hell." He gestured heavenward. "God gave commandments for a reason . . . they weren't polite suggestions . . . an' I know this may come as a shock to you, but you've broken at least nine out of ten of them."

"Wh-what are y-you talkin' about?"

"You're goin' to Hell, Bitch," Ethan sneered, "An' I'm gonna watch you burn for all eternity cause you stupidly turned your back on the only person who could've saved your sorry ass."

"Ethan!" his father shouted, momentarily gaining his attention. "D-don't you hurt her. Pl-please, don't hurt her."

"Oh, I already hurt your sweet little plaything downstairs . . . snapped her scrawny little neck." A mirthless laugh issued past his lips as he refocused his attention on his mother. "See, Daddy's been very bad boy. Apparently that whole thou shalt not commit adultery thing just slipped by his attention as he played naughty nurse with the maid, who knew it would come back to bite him in the ass in the end."

"Why are you doing this to us?" his mother uttered as she squirmed to break free of his hold on her, to no avail.

"Because it's what I do." Ethan laughed. "Punish the wicked." He raised his sights toward the ceiling and it instantly burst into writhing greenish-blue flames. "I'm sort of like Hell's own little lawyer, judge an' jury all rolled into one damn sexy package." Fire hungrily licked at the walls edging closer to where Ethan and his mother were standing. "An' seein' as you don't have any idea where my wayward brother is, I really have no more use for you."

"E-Ethan, please . . . ." Tears slipped unabashedly down her cheeks as she begged for her life. "I – I don't wanna die."

"Oh, dyin' is just a new beginning, sweetheart," Ethan jeered as he lightly placed two fingers on her forehead. "A whole new world awaits you." He chuckled as he gently trailed his fingertips down her face, and ripped her flesh away from the bone. Her pitiful screams were drowned out by the roaring sound of flames and Ethan's booming voice. "Every heated breath you take will be excruciatingly painful. Your lungs will burst apart from the God awful heat." He smiled wickedly. "Flames will eat away at your flesh until there's nothing left but bone, an' still you'll live . . . an' everyday for the rest of eternity you'll beg for forgiveness, but it will fall on deaf ears."

Ethan leaned in and kissed her, licking his lips hungrily as he tasted her blood. "Sorry I have to cut this so short, Mom, but Lucifer is waiting for me." He wiped the back of his hand across his face. "See, we're throwing our own little party . . . maybe it's not as lavish as the one you were plannin' here tonight, but I'm sure it's gonna be something no one will ever forget."

XxXxXxXxXxX

"So how's your back, Rowan?" Dean asked, well aware of the tension that had settled between the two of them since the night the vampire had basically told him that he had given up on trying to be redeemed. "After breakfast I need to change your bandages," he added when Rowan merely grunted in response to his question. Anxiously drumming his fingers on his thigh, he tried to think of something to say that might force his friend to speak to him. "I was doin' some research and came up with two mysterious fires. One was at Harvard Law School. Guess one of the buildings went up in flames in a matter of minutes," he paused to draw in a breath, giving Rowan an opportunity to jump into the conversation, but when he failed to do so, Dean continued onward, "Something like a hundred an' fifty kids died . . . witnesses said they could hear them screaming and begging for help, but the flames were just so intense no one could get to them in time."

"An' the other fire?" Rowan muttered without glancing up at Dean.

"A house fire in New Hampshire. Three people died, apparently under similar circumstances. The funny thing is that this guy, Ethan Daniels, who lived there with his parents attends Harvard, an' went missing after the first fire."

"Ethan Daniels?" Rowan quirked a brow in sudden interest. To Dean, it almost seemed as if the name meant something to the vampire. "So, are you thinkin' he's some sort of Firestarter?"

"I dunno, could be, thought maybe we could take a look into it."

Now Rowan did glance up from his spot across the table from Dean. He met and held Dean's gaze for a moment, before once again lowering his head. "An' what, pawn Josh off on Bobby again? You have a job to do right here, Dean. An' I have to find Collin, an' try to explain things to him."

"I can hunt for this thing an' still take care of Jay," Dean argued.

"No, you can't, Dean." Rowan's voice rose in anger as he slammed his fist down on the table. "You have no idea what you're really dealin' with here, an' just rushin' into hunt this thing down is gonna get you killed."

"So then tell me what we're dealin' with here since you so obviously know what kinda damn creature it is."

"It really doesn't matter what it is cause you're not going anywhere near it."

"Umm . . . yeah, I am, an' you're comin' with me," Dean uttered, prepared to argue with the vampire until he got his way on the matter.

Rowan abruptly pushed back his seat, and shot to his feet. "I'm not gonna do this with you. Maybe this is how you get Sam to do things you want, but I'm not your brother . . . I'm not your family, an' I have no intention of going anywhere with you. Not now . . . not tomorrow . . . not ever again. Do I make myself clear?"

"What the hell's the matter with you?" Dean asked, finding it extremely difficult to keep the hurt from his tone. "Why are you being such an ass all of the sudden?"

"Cause you're not gonna let me die, Dean." Pure accusation and loathing colored Rowan's tone as he glared at Dean. "It's the only thing I've ever asked of you . . . It's the only thing I've ever wanted, an' when this is all over, you're gonna do everything in your power to see that I can never be at rest."

The older vampire looked to Dean expectantly, apparently waiting for him to deny what he had just said, but Dean remained stonily silent. And to Dean there was really no point in trying to deny it because in truth he had no intention of letting his best friend die. He had actually believed that by admitting to Rowan that he had become an important part of his life, the vampire would have reconsidered ending his own life, but he had only managed to make matters worse.

"You sonuvabitch," Rowan snarled, shaking his head in disgust. "After everything I've done for you."

"It's not like I have the damn amulet anyway, Rowan." Dean shrugged, splaying his arms out to the side. "Jax lost it, so I don't see what we're arguing about."

"We're arguin' cause just like always, you have to be the hero . . . have to save my life, an' you don't give a rat's ass that I really don't wanna be saved. I wanna die, Dean. So damn it jus' for once, don't try an' be a hero."

"Damn it, you just don't get it do you?" Dean huffed, at the end of his patience. "I'm a vamp, too. So unless someone comes along an' freakin' lobs off my head, which is so not gonna happen, I'm not goin' anywhere. You're not alone anymore, so why the hell do you think you need to die?"

"Oh, that's right, I forgot it's all about you, isn't it, Dean?" Rowan clenched his fists as he closed the gap between them. "If I didn't know any better, I'd almost think you let Jax keep the damn amulet jus' so I'd never get my hands on it."

"Yeah, I'm a selfish bastard cause I don't feel like bein' the only vamp left standing in the end." Dean sprang to his feet, balling his fists, prepared to defend himself if Rowan attacked. "I'm this way cause of you, so you're damn well sticking around for the long haul, whether you like it or not."

With lightning fast reflexes, Rowan's arm shot out, and he grabbed Dean by the neck, swung him around and jacked him up against the wall. Lifting him several feet off the ground with one arm, the older vampire caught hold of Dean's wrist with his other hand, and slammed it against the wall, pinning it there. "Don't ever think you control what I do, Dean. Just because we're friends doesn't mean I won't kill you if I have to. Understand?"

"Put me down, Rowan," Dean uttered in a low and deceptively calm voice. "I know what you're trying to do, an' it's not gonna work."

"You do, huh?" Lowering Dean so that they were at eye level with each other, Rowan leaned in so their faces were only mere inches apart. "So why don't you enlighten me as to what I'm trying to do?"

"You jus' hate the idea that someone could possibly care enough about ya that they might want to save your miserable life." Dean chuckled, hoping to ease the awkward tension that now seemed to permeate the room. "So you're thinkin' that if you can somehow get me to hate you, I'll be the first in line to kill you when the time comes, but it's not gonna happen."

"God, I really can't stand you." Rowan let go of Dean so abruptly he nearly crashed to the ground, but quickly managed to regain his balance. The shaggy-haired vamp, slumped to the floor and drew up his legs and rested his arms on his knees. "Why can't ya just hate me like everyone else does . . . it would really make things a helluva lot easier if you would."

"I dunno, guess I'm just a sucker for lost causes." Dean smirked as he took a seat beside his friend. He fell silent for a moment as he wondered what had happened to change Rowan. The older vampire had always claimed that he wanted to die, but this was the first time Dean actually believed him. A frown creased his brow, hating the idea of getting into a chick-flick conversation with Rowan, but pushed onward despite the twisting, churning feeling in the pit of his stomach. "What's wrong with you, Rowan? Why is it so damn important all of the sudden to change how things are between us?"

"I jus' don't feel right, Dean," Rowan mumbled dejectedly as he rested his forehead against the palm of his hand, fingers slipping into his shaggy, raven-colored bangs. "You – You took my heart . . . an' I know I told you to do it, but now I jus' . . . I dunno, I just feel real empty inside."

Dean swallowed hard. He had consciously tried to put the day when he had brutally killed Rowan and hungrily devoured his heart out of his mind. And for some damn reason, he really had thought his friend was okay. The vampire's heart still beat strongly inside his chest. He didn't look any different or seem weaker to Dean so he had just assumed he was fine. "I don't know – what can I do?"

"There's nothin' you can do, it's just how things are." Rowan glanced up at Dean and their eyes locked briefly before he looked away. "I knew it was a possibility when I suggested it, I was just hopin' I was wrong." He shrugged as a wry chuckle slipped past his lips. "Jus' let it go, Dean, it's not really all that important anyway. Hey, I'm still amazingly good looking, so I'm aces." He grinned, exposing perfect white teeth minus the fangs.

"There has to be something we can do," Dean said, ignoring Rowan's attempt to put an end to their conversation. Rowan had done so much to help him, had been there when no one else was, and he understood him like no one ever had before. And it was more than a little strange that the person he felt closest to was a vampire, one of his sworn enemies, but then again on a certain level it made perfect sense. They were both outsiders even amongst their own races. They'd both built walls to keep others from finding out what pain lied buried deep within their hearts. And they both had fought every single day for what they believed in, and in the end, Dean decided that if he had to chose just one person to be friends with it would be Rowan. "This is my fault an' I'm gonna fix it."

"Didn't ask you to fix anything, Dean." Rowan opened his mouth to say something more, but the sound of his cell phone ringing, cut him short. Yanking his phone out of his pocket, he saw it was Jamie calling. "I gotta take this call," he said before jabbing the button to answer the phone. "Talk to me."

"Rowan, it's Jamie," the young Brethren member said is a breathy rush.

"Did you find Collin?" Rowan held his breath as he waited for a response. His son had come to confide in Jamie and from Rowan's understanding, Collin thought of the hunter as his best friend. So if there was anyone who could find his son it would be Jamie.

Jamie hesitated for a moment, and Rowan could hear him heave a heavy sigh. "I've looked every where for him. It's like he's just disappeared right off the map. He hasn't been at any of the bars we usually hang out at . . . there's no paper trail. I had Lochlan check three time, which he was really pissed about, by the way. There's nothin'."

"Well, you keep lookin'." Rowan's voice rose in anger as he detected the sound of defeat in the younger man's tone. "I don't want you to stop even to catch a quick bite to eat until my son is back home. Got me?"

"I wasn't giving up," Jamie hastily defended, "I just wanted to let you know I haven't found him yet." The young man paused for another moment, and Rowan's heart skipped a beat as he worried that Jamie might have lied to him, and something bad had happened to Collin.

"What aren't you telling me? If something happened to Collin – "

"It's nothin' like that," Jamie blurted out, cutting Rowan off. "I found this amulet . . . actually I stole it from some guy. I think it must belong to a Guardian, but this guy Jax, well, he's no Guardian, I'd stake my life on it."

"You – You what?" Rowan smiled briefly as he glanced in Dean's direction. His grin abruptly died away as he realized that if he told Dean about it, his friend would keep it from him after his deal was completed. No matter how he felt about their friendship, he decided he couldn't give it back to Dean. "Look I'll meet you in about an' hour at my office in town. Just bring it with you, an' I'll make sure it gets taken care of."

"Alright, should I take care of this Jax guy?"

"No, jus' leave him alone. Believe me, you don't wanna mess with him cause then you'd have to answer to Michael." With that said, Rowan snapped his phone shut, got to his feet, and shifted to look at Dean. "Look, I've got some business to take care of, but when I get back we can do some more research on this Firestarter."

"What made you change your mind?" Dean asked suspiciously, lifting a brow as he studied Rowan carefully. "One phone call from this Jamie guy an' you're ready to hightail it out of town while your son is still missing?"

"I'm going to look for this Firestarter, with or without you. An' I don't really need to explain my reasons to you, Dean." Without saying another word, Rowan turned on his heel and stalked out of the room.


	15. Chapter 15

So last chapter...hopefully everyone has enjoyed the story. Let me know what you think, it means the world to me!! thanks for erading. bambers;)

_Chapter Fifteen_

Rowan steered his son's motorcycle into the underground parking area of the Save the Earth Foundation, a dummy corporation set up to house Brethren Headquarters, and killed the engine. After raking a hand through his wind-blown hair, he eased off the Harley, and headed for the elevator. As he rode the lift up to the fourth floor, he thought over his reasons for keeping the amulet a secret from Dean. If Dean ever found out that he had the amulet and had failed to tell him about it, he would never trust Rowan again. Of course, he wasn't only risking losing the younger man's trust but also his friendship as well. Not to mention that if Michael found out that he had the amulet in his possession, he might send him straight back to Hell for good this time around. But as bad as all those things were, the thought of living onward forevermore was worse by far.

_Dean just doesn't understand what it's like to watch everyone die, an' know I'll always be here no matter what. _He heaved a weary sigh, a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach as he thought of Dean, and how much the younger vamp's friendship meant to him. And in truth, it meant the world to him that someone would care enough about him that they would actually want to save him. No one had ever wanted that for him before, not even Michael Dean.

As the bell announcing the fourth floor chimed and the door slid open, Rowan noticed Jamie was already waiting outside his office door. The youngest member of the Brethren paced back and forth in front of the office door, a worried frown gracing his boyish features.

The moment Jamie turned and saw Rowan, he rushed toward him. "Where ya been, Rowan? I've been waitin' here for well over an hour now."

"Since we're on my dime, I really don't see what the problem is," Rowan uttered as he brushed past Jamie, and unlocked his office door. "But if you got somewhere better to be, Jamie-O, just leave me the amulet an' the keys to your Corvette on your way out the door."

"It's no wonder Collin took off on ya." Jamie whispered under his breath as he sunk down onto the leather couch situated in front of the stone fireplace.

Rowan scowled, hearing the younger man's comment. "In the future, if you're gonna mumble sarcastic remarks about me, try an' remember that I'm a vampire, an' I've got incredibly good hearing." He stalked to the mini refrigerator, pulled open the door, and found that Jamie had stocked it in preparation for his arrival home. "Thanks for the . . . well, you know," he uttered awkwardly as he retrieved a bag of fresh blood from the top shelf, pushed the door closed and headed over to the bar to get a glass.

"Why do ya always gotta drink that stuff in front of me?" Jamie gagged, covering his mouth and averting his eyes as Rowan hastily downed the thick red liquid. "It's bad enough you have me steal it for ya, but I really don't need a reminder that I am basically feeding the enemy."

"So how's Becca an' Luke doing?" Rowan said, quickly changing the subject as he took a seat on the dark brown leather recliner adjacent to the couch, and propped his feet up on the coffee table. From what he had learned from Jason earlier in the week, Jax had been able to heal Becca's heart, but Luke had been severely injured in the process. At the time Rowan had wondered why Jax hadn't also used his abilities to heal Luke as well, but soon discovered from Becca that Jax had been too drained from healing her to help the hunter.

"They're both doing a lot better now . . . . Don't know how Jax cured 'em, not sure I want to, but I'm glad he did."

"Good to hear." As Rowan thought of Jason, he was reminded of one of the reasons why he wanted to meet with Jamie. "Jamie-O, I need you to keep an eye on Jason. I think he might be in danger, an' with Luke injured you're the only one I can trust to make sure the job gets done right."

"Why would he be in any more danger than we always are?" Jamie pushed forward in his seat, and rested his elbows on his knees as he raised a questioning brow.

"I just have this feelin' that something real bad his heading his way, an' if I can't stop it, I need you to take care of him . . . get him out of here, do whatever you have to do, but make sure he's safe."

"What are we dealin' with here, Rowan?" Jamie slipped his hand into his pocket and yanked out the amulet he had stolen from Jax. Twirling the leather band around his finger, he briefly studied the tarnished brass charm adorning it before reverting his attention back to Rowan. "I'm not stupid ya know, Twelve amulets, twelve disciples . . . is Joshua's time coming to an end?"

Rowan was silent for a moment as he tried to think of how to answer the younger man's question. From everything he had recalled from the time before he had betrayed Jesus, it seemed highly likely that Dean would be Joshua's last Guardian. But what that meant for Joshua and Jax still remained a mystery to Rowan. Scrubbing a hand across his face, Rowan recalled what Uriel had said about Belial being on the move. From his understanding of scripture, he knew that some referred to the demon as the Antichirst, and most believed him to be Lucifer's father. So if what Uriel had said was true, they were running out of time to save the world from ending.

"I never asked this before, but do you have a younger brother, Jamie-O?" Rowan said as he suddenly realized that all the chosen ones were second sons.

"Yeah, Tim, I haven't heard from him in about a year or so." Jamie's brow furrowed in apparent confusion at Rowan's sudden interest in his family. "Why?"

"What about Hunter?" he further pressed, mentally kicking himself for not realizing the pattern earlier. Of course until he had learned of Jason's brother Ethan, he really hadn't had much to go on. But with Sam being one of the demon's chosen children, and Dean being chosen as a Guardian it all started to fit together nicely into a very nasty picture. The greatest war ever waged to save humanity would divide families. Brother against brother with angels and demons pulling the strings.

"Yeah, think he mentioned having a brother to me a couple of times."

"Older or younger?"

"I think he's older, but I could be wrong."

"Look, I need you to go an' find my son as fast as you can, do whatever you gotta do, but bring him home an' make sure he stays there. Understand?" Rowan stood and held out his hand, and Jamie gave him the amulet, which he hastily pocketed.

"Rowan, what's goin' on?" Jamie glanced up at him with a worried expression, and for the first time, Rowan realized how young and innocent he still was, despite all the horrible things he had seen and killed in the last few years. "I mean, that thing tried to kill Becca, an' now Luke's in bad shape. If you know something about it, you need to tell me."

"It's . . . ." Rowan's voice trailed off as he tried to think of how to describe what would happen if they didn't stop Lucifer and Belial. But for some reason the words 'end of the world' just didn't seem even remotely strong enough to explain how bad things would get if anything happened to Joshua or Jax. "I can handle it, it's nothing you need to worry about right now."

Jamie narrowed his eyes and studied Rowan for a few moments before he blurt out, "You're lyin'. It's gonna be shit-assed bad an' we're all gonna get caught with our pants down jus' cause you think you can always handle everything on your own."

"When have I ever let you go into anything unprepared?" Rowan quirked a brow in clear amusement as Jamie scowled.

"Pretty much every time we've ever gone on a hunt that you suggested. Oh, Jamie, it's just a simple vamp hunt, we don't need any back-up. Only there was about fifty of them, an' they all seemed pretty damn pissed at you for some reason." The young hunter rolled his eyes as he rattled off different times when they had been caught unprepared on hunts that Rowan had told them about. "An' then there was the Wendigo incident," he groaned as he rubbed the side of his stomach, "I'll never forget the Wendigo incident. Fifty stitches in my side cause you told me it couldn't climb a tree."

"Pretty sure I said it couldn't climb a tree . . . quickly." Rowan chuckled. "Cause, well, everyone knows they can climb."

"Yeah, think you added that last part after I was already nearing the top branches, an' it was scrambling up after me." Jamie brushed back his hair to reveal a raised scar that trailed back into his hairline. "Water demon, fifteen stitches." Then pushed back the collar of his shirt to expose another long jagged scar. "Werewolf, forty-seven stitches an' a broken arm."

"So, you're blamin' me cause you're apparently very clumsy?" Rowan's eyes widened in mock innocence as he struggled not to laugh.

"No, I'm blamin' you cause you don't give a rat's ass how much we risk every time we go out for a hunt unprepared." Jamie shot to his feet, anger flaring in his eyes as he came to stand face to face with Rowan. "An' unlike you, Rowan, I don't have a death wish . . . I don't wanna die, an' it pisses me off that you can jus' throw your money at us like that can make up for everything. You're a selfish bastard who only ever cared about himself, an' to hell with everyone else."

Rowan's grin faltered, then died away as he turned his back on Jamie. A spark of anger ignited within him, and swiftly grew as the moments ticked by. "You just about finished?"

"I jus' wanna know what we're – "

"I didn't ask if you wanted to know more about what we're up against," Rowan snapped, jagged fangs ripping through his gums as sudden rage surged through him. "I asked if you were finished telling me what a selfish sonuvabitch I am, cause as I recall it, if it weren't for me you'd probably be dead in some alleyway by now. An' what with that nasty little drug habit you had, I actually did think you had a death wish."

"I was only sixteen at the time, Rowan, an basically living on the streets," Jamie hastily defended. "An' I haven't touched the stuff in years." He gripped hold of Rowan's shoulder and swung him to face him. "I've changed, but you . . . you'll never change."

Rowan hastily lowered his head as he swiped the back of his hand across his blood-stained lips. His pupils narrowed to mere slits as he listened intently to the hunter's heartbeat. Deep, unsettling hunger swelled from within the pit of his stomach as he heard the blood rushing through Jamie's veins. His body trembled with the aching desire to sink his fangs into Jamie's neck and rip his throat apart. Fighting back his ravenous hunger, he pressed his eyes closed and hissed, "Get the hell outta here now, Jamie."

"What? You can't stand to hear the truth?" Jamie taunted, apparently not realizing how his remarks fueled Rowan's growing hunger. "Cause it's what we all think about you."

"I said go," Rowan gritted out through clenched teeth, lips quivering with anticipation as he breathed in Jamie's scent. Before Jamie had the chance to say anything more, Rowan roughly gripped hold of his arm and dragged him to the door. "Get out. An' don't you dare come back." He flung open the door and shoved the younger man out of it, then slammed it shut and locked it.

Shaking uncontrollably, he slid to the ground and yanked out his cell phone to call Dean. Within a matter of two rings, Dean answered.

"Dean," he uttered in a hoarse whisper, tears slipping down his cheeks as he realized how close he had come to killing Jamie. "I – I need your help."

"What's wrong, Rowan?" Dean asked, concern clearly evident in his tone.

"Somethin's wrong with me . . . I dunno, I almost couldn't control it."

"Couldn't control what?"

"I wanted to kill him . . . wanted to rip his throat apart . . . An' I'm not like that, Dean, you have to believe me . . . I'm jus' not."

"Did you hurt anyone?" There was an air of accusation in Dean's voice that didn't go unnoticed by Rowan.

"No . . . I jus' . . . ." his voice trailed off as he tried to regain control over himself. "For some reason I was jus' so damn angry, an' it's not like I haven't heard what he said a million times before . . . it shouldn't have bothered me."

"Where are you, Rowan? I'll come an' get ya."

"722 Berkshire Road. You can't miss it, it's a four-tiered building an' is all done in mirrored glass. Fourth floor." Rowan heaved a groan as he glanced toward the small refrigerator. "I'm so damn hungry, Dean. I shouldn't be so hungry."

"Jus' stay where you are, I'll be there as fast as I can," Dean ordered, in a calm level tone.

"Don't wanna hurt anyone . . . ."

"An' you won't as long as you stay where you are an' wait for me."

"Jus' hurry," Rowan muttered, then snapped the phone shut.

He was about to slip the phone back in his pocket when it started to ring. Glancing at the caller id, he swore under his breath when he saw it was Jax calling again. Over the past several days, Jax had left no less than twenty messages telling Rowan that it was important and to please call back. At the moment he really didn't feel like getting into an argument with the young hunter, but knew if he didn't answer now, Jax would keep calling until he finally did. With that in mind, he jabbed the button and took the call.

"What do ya want, Jax?" he asked, having a hard time keeping the irritation out of his voice.

"Rowan, I've been tryin' ta call ya for days now." There was an undeniable note of urgency in Jax's tone that immediately set off clear warning bells inside Rowan's head. "I know I'm probably the last person ya wanna hear from . . . an' I'm so damn sorry about Dean an' the amulet . . . but I didn't know who else to turn to an' they're askin' me if I wanna take him off life support – "

"Wait," Rowan's brows furrowed in confusion, "What are you talkin' about?"

"S-Sam," Jax replied in a shaky voice. "Lucifer, he . . . well, he did somethin' to him. I mean, he should've woke up. They've tried everything, but say the only thing that's keepin' him alive is all the damn tubes they got him hooked up to." He drew in a staggered breath, and then continued, "He jus' went downhill so damn fast, an' they don't know why. All his organs are shuttin' down, an' they can hardly detect any brain function at all."

"An' you said Lucifer did something to him." Rowan hopped to his feet and paced back and forth as he mulled over what the demon might have done to Dean's brother. "Why didn't you try an' heal him?"

"I've tried an' tried, but nothin' happens," Jax managed to choke out in a weary defeated manner. "It's like he knows that Dean's gone, an' jus' gave up the will to live."

"No," Rowan said with a shake of his head, "It's like Lucifer did somethin' to him, an' no medical intervention is gonna save him."

"Then what am I supposed ta do?"

"You don't let him die, you hear me?"

"Yeah," Jax breathed a heavy sigh, and Rowan could tell the frightened hunter was glad that he no longer had to make the decision as to whether his friend lived or died.

"Listen, I'll make some calls, an' get him the best care possible, but you make damn sure that no one unhooks those machines no matter what."

"Gotcha." Jax paused to draw in a breath, and when he spoke again, Rowan could hear the overwhelming sadness in his tone. "I'm – I'm so sorry about Dean . . . Sam's never gonna forgive me. How do I even begin ta tell him his brother died cause of me?" He was quiet again, and Rowan heard a soft sob. "I jus' . . . I totally messed up everything . . . an' Dean died . . . Sam could die, an' it's all my fault."

Hearing how heartbroken the younger man was, Rowan nearly slipped and told him that Dean was alive. But if Sam was as bad off as Jax said, there would be nothing Rowan could say or do that would keep the eldest Winchester from going to his brother. Dean had only a little over four and a half months left to go and he was free of his deal, and Rowan had a feeling that whatever Lucifer had done to the younger hunter, it was meant to force Dean into breaking his pact with Michael.

"Look, you couldn't have known what would happen when you took the amulet." Rowan's stomach clenched painfully as the lie slipped past his lips. Without a doubt, Dean would hate him if he ever found out that Sam was in a coma and Rowan had known and had purposely kept the information from him. "You jus' make sure he stays alive long enough for me to figure out a way to save him."

"Ya think ya can save him?" Jax asked hopefully.

"Yeah, if Lucifer did somethin' to him, I'm pretty sure there has to be a way I can fix it," he assured, although he highly doubted that finding a cure would come without him having to pay a very high price for it. "Just take care of him, Jax . . . Dean would be . . . he gave everything to make sure Sam was safe, an' I'm not about to let him die now." Rowan snapped the phone shut before he changed his mind and told the hunter that Dean was alive. "I'm so sorry, Dean," he muttered under his breath, "I know you're gonna hate me for this, but I jus' can't let you throw your life away again."

XxXxXxXxXxX

After asking Bobby to watch Joshua, Dean snatched the keys to his Chevelle off the table near the door. Luckily, Rowan had had the car delivered to the cabin a few days earlier when Dean was still unconscious, or he would have been stuck driving Bobby's truck. He headed out of the cabin, and stopped short when he glanced up and noticed Michael leaning against the hood of the car.

He heaved an irritated groan as he tried to think of what he could have possibly done wrong this time, but couldn't think of one reason for the archangel's untimely visit. "Look, whatever I've done to piss you off this time, I'm pretty sure it's not my fault, so can we just skip the lecture cause I'm kinda in a hurry."

"You have a guilty conscience about something, Dean?" Michael raised a brow as he cross his arms over his expansive chest. "Because at the moment, I'm not here about you."

"Huh, that's a new one." Dean couldn't help the look of shocked surprise that flickered across his features. "So if you're not here about me, why are you here?"

"Rowan," Michael replied as he pushed away from the car and strode to where Dean was standing. "He's playin' a dangerous game, Dean, an' he's gonna lose if you can't stop him."

"What are you talkin' about?"

"He has your amulet, an' he doesn't intend to give it back to you." The angel peered into Dean's eyes, and held his gaze as he went on to say, "But what he doesn't realize is that by lying to you, an' keeping it from you, he's just damning himself to an even worse kind of hell than he's already in."

Dean scrubbed a hand across his face as he mentally processed what the angel had just divulged to him. A frown creased his brow, realizing that he had almost died, and Rowan had the one thing that could have saved him. "I could've died, an' he had it the whole time?"

"No, he just got it back," Michael clarified. "But as long as it is in his possession, his hunger will keep growing until he becomes the very thing he's tried so damn hard not to be."

"So, I just take it back from him then," Dean said, although he had a sinking feeling it wouldn't be that simple. Nothing whereas Michael was concerned ever was, so why should this time be any different.

"Afraid it's not that simple, Dean."

"Course, it's not . . . why should we ever get to take the easy road when there's so much we stand to learn from bustin' our asses takin' the long hard road instead."

"Look at it this way, at least the road you're takin' isn't the Highway to Hell." Michael smirked. "Figured you'd like the AC/DC reference there."

"So not funny." Dean shook his head as his frown deepened. "How am I supposed to get it back from him if I can't just ask for it?"

"He has to want to give it back to you, more than he wants to die."

Dean gave a curt nod of understanding, knowing that there was no way in hell Rowan would give the amulet to him. The older vampire wanted to die more than anything, and Dean seriously doubted there was anything he could say or do to change his mind. "You know, all this angel bullshit really sucks, right? All these freakin' tests you dole out just to watch us fall flat on our faces. No one can possibly live up to the standards you're lookin' for . . . Rowan's tryin' so damn hard an' you jus' love knockin' him right back down at every turn."

Eyes gleaming a dark and stormy shade of blue, Michael took a step closer to Dean, coming face to face with him. "I really don't care what you think about angels or how much you think you've suffered. As I clearly recall, both you and Rowan did this to yourselves. I didn't make deals with demons. I didn't sell your soul for the lowest price possible. An' it was a slap in the face to everything Jesus died for that you thought so little of your own life that you threw it all away. So don't look to me for pity cause I'm afraid I just don't have it in me to feel sorry for you."

If the angel had slammed a powerful fist into his gut, Dean wouldn't have felt any worse than he did at the moment. Even when he had kissed the crossroads demon, sealing his own fate, he knew deep in heart that making deals with demons was wrong. How could he not, he was a hunter after all. And to an angel like Michael, there was probably nothing he could have done that was as bad as giving away his own soul.

Lowering his head, Dean vowed, "Don't know how I'll do it, but I will get the damn thing back from him."

"I have no doubt you will."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

After Rowan's urgent phone call, Dean hadn't known what to expected when he showed up at the four-story building, and was completely unprepared for the sight that met his eyes as he entered the vampire's office. It appeared as if a small bomb had gone off in the room. Tables and chairs had been broken and overturned. Deep stains of crimson were splattered across the thick beige carpeting. A steel refrigerator sat upended in the middle of the room with the door ripped off the hinges.

His gaze ticked back and forth from the mess in the room to the vampire who sat huddled in the corner with blood smearing his lips and clothing, and his stomach churn violently. "What did you do, Rowan?" He asked, narrowing his eyes on his best friend. "Please, jus' tell me you didn't kill anyone."

"Glad to see you, too, Dean." Rowan glanced up at him through shaggy bangs, and a weary smile graced his features. "An' no I didn't kill anyone." He gestured around the room, and then chuckled. "Course I did a damn good job of destroying my office."

"I can see that." Dean laughed, a rush of relief nearly overwhelming him. "Looks as if the fridge put up quite a fight before you took it out though."

"What can I say, it caught me off guard."

"I'm sure it did, refrigerators have been known to do that." Dean crossed the room, sidestepping all the broken furniture, and dropped down beside his friend.

"What took you so long in gettin' here, Dean? I called you well over an hour ago." He looked up at Dean, and held his gaze. His eyes gleamed an intense shade of green, pupils mere slits that reminded Dean of a serpent. The dark-haired vamp rolled his tongue over his fangs as a low moan escaped him.

"I had to take care of something first, but I got here as fast as I could." He hated the idea of keeping what Michael had told him a secret from Rowan, but knew he had no choice in the matter. Somehow he needed to figure out a way to get Rowan to want to give him back his amulet without letting on that he knew he had it in the first place. "Why are you so hungry all of a sudden?" he asked, knowing full-well the reason behind it, but wanted to give Rowan pause to really consider what he was doing to himself. "You've been a vamp a helluva long time, an' from what I've gathered, you've always been able to control it."

"I dunno." Rowan heaved a weary sigh as he brushed his hand through his hair, pushing his bangs out of his eyes. "Guess I'm jus' tired of tryin' so damn hard to resist somethin' I want more than anything."

"You'd damn well better keep fighting it cause I'm not about to let you give up on me." Dean withdrew the knife that was concealed in his boot and sliced into his wrist, then held up his arm to Rowan's mouth. "You're better than this, Rowan."

"No, I'm really not, Dean." The older vampire grabbed hold of Dean's hand and sunk his fangs deep into his wrist, blood spurting out to soak into the carpeting.

A soft cry slipped past Dean's lips as Rowan bit in even deeper, tearing through his artery. The ravenous vamp continued to gorge himself long after the point Dean knew he should stop, and Dean began to feel light-headed and dizzy. His vision swam as darkness edged in around him, and he knew if he didn't stop his friend soon he would drain him dry.

"Rowan, stop." Dean pushed hard against the vamp's shoulder, trying to dislodge him as he felt his blood being drained from his veins. When that didn't work he slammed the palm of his hand into the feeding vampire's forehead, knocking his head away from his wrist. "What the hell's wrong with you?"

"I'm hungry . . . so damn hungry." Color rose to flush Rowan's face as he lowered his head. "I don't know what to do, an' I'm so damn afraid. I know I'm gonna hurt someone, an' no one's gonna be able to stop me."

"There has to be a reason for it, Rowan . . . something you did . . . something you aren't telling me about," Dean said as he pressed his hand over his wrist to staunch the flow of blood.

"I don't keep any secrets from you," Rowan said, but couldn't manage to meet Dean's steady gaze. "An' this has nothing to do with anything other than being a vampire."

"Bullshit, Rowan," Dean blurted out, his anger flaring at the idea that his friend would boldly lie to his face. "I'm a vampire, too, but you don't see me going around destroying rooms cause I'm in desperate need of a blood fix."

"Huh, you're comparing yourself to me?" Rowan pushed him away and shot to his feet. "What, you've been a vampire for like month now, an' so you know how tough it is?"

"Yeah, I think I do." Dean pushed away from the wall and quickly leapt to his feet.

"Right, sure you do." Rowan shook his head in disgust. "Cause I've let you starve . . . I've let you feel what it's like to need something so bad, an' then not let you have it."

"I didn't say that," Dean hastily defended, "all I said was I know what it's like to be a vampire."

"You have no clue what it's like to be a vamp, so don't you even stand there pretendin' like you do," the vampire hissed, baring his fangs as he backed Dean into a corner. "Not once have I let you taste human blood, so until you do, you'll never know what real hunger feels like."

"That may be true, but my hunger is no less real than yours, an' I fight it with everything that's in me." Dean's fangs ripped through his gums as Rowan crowded him into the corner and gripped hold of his throat.

Rowan trailed his fingers over Dean's lips, separating them, then slid a thumb along his jagged fangs, slicing it open. Blood instantly filled Dean's mouth, igniting his hunger, and his eyes gleamed fiery green as he eyed the dark-haired vampire. Yanking his hand away, Rowan turned his back on Dean, and laughed mercilessly. "Maybe I should let you see how it feels. Maybe I'll just let you figure out this whole vamp thing on your own, so you know what you're talking about in the future."

Dean trembled with scarcely controlled hunger as he snagged Rowan's arm and swung around to face him. "W-why are you doin' this to me . . . I'm jus' tryin' to help you."

"Cause you come in here talkin' about me keepin' secrets, basically accusing me of being jus' like the things you hunt, an' I think you need to realize you're a vamp jus' like me. If it came right down to it, an' I wasn't around to help ya, you'd be findin' the first damn person you could sink your teeth into. An' you know what, Dean . . . you'd like it."

"So what are you gonna do, Rowan?" Dean held Rowan's gaze, silently pleading with him to give in. "You gonna let me kill someone just to prove your point." When the elder vampire remained stonily quiet, Dean further added, "Please, don't do that to me. I-I couldn't take it."

For several very long moments Rowan remained silent, forcing Dean wonder if he would actually make good on his threat, and then his hawklike features softened considerably. "You know I'd never do that to you. It's just I need you . . . ." his voice abruptly trailed off as he held out his wrist to Dean. "I need you to understand that we're not alike. You have no idea what it's like to have this insatiable desire for something you know you can't even consider having. An' that's why I won't let you ever taste human blood cause once you do, that hunger will grow until it's the only force that drives you."

Dean gave a quick nod of understanding as he slid down the wall and folded his legs, resting his forearms on his knees. "Look, I'm sorry about losin' the amulet," he said quickly changing the subject, and noted how the vampire couldn't meet his gaze. "I know you thought it could save you, so if you want we can try an' find it."

"What's the point?" Rowan muttered as he took a seat beside Dean, stretched out his legs and casually crossed them. "We could search from here all the back to Vegas an' still not find it, an' we don't have that kinda of time to waste." He kept his head lowered, purposely not making any eye contact with Dean, and Dean instinctively knew that it bother Rowan that he had lied to him.

"It really wouldn't be all that hard," Dean coaxed, hoping that Rowan would break down and confess he had the stupid charm. "I'll just give Jax a call an' find out every place they stopped along the way. It probably dropped out of his pocket at one of the motels they stayed at."

"No, we can't do that." Rowan's voice rose slightly as he finally looked Dean square in the eyes. "You've got a little over four months left to go, an' Lucifer's gonna be doing everything in his power to make sure you fail. So you need to stay away from Jax and Sam or he'll use them against you."

"I'm not stupid, Rowan, I'd never put Sam's life in danger." Looking around at all the damage Rowan had done to the office, Dean heaved a weary sigh as he scrubbed a hand across his face. "An' you're right. I am putting his life at risk by sticking around here. So I'll make a deal with ya, cause we both know how much I like makin' deals I can't possibly win." Dean chuckled as Rowan rolled his eyes. "For the next four months, I'll stay far away from Sammy as long as you can be totally honest with me about everything." He stuck out his arm to shake on the deal, and Rowan reluctantly grasped hold of his hand and shook it. "So it's a deal then?"

"Sure, Dean, I've got nothing to hide."

XxXxXxXxXxX

_okay, so here's the deal on the next story or stories in the Angels and Demons series. The next two are dual stories that I am posting at the same time. The First is called Knockin' on Heaven's Door, and is the fifth story in the series. It takes up where gengen's story leaves off . . ._ _Summary: Dean discovers Sam is dying, and risks everything to be at his brother's side. (yeah, it's a angstfest) and the sixth story in the series is called, Shotgun Sinners, Wild-Eyed Jokers...(i have been dying to write this one since I started the series and it was the perfect time for it) Summary: Brothers separated by fate, brought back together by destiny. Through separate __circumstances, Sam and Dean are both sent back through time to 1835 and meet Samuel Colt as Dean searches for the Ark of the Covenant. (lol...of course Dean meets up with Rowan the only person he knows that is allive in that time) hopefully, everyone will enjoy!! bambers;)_


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